“[D]ump the hyperbole and call Abu Ghraib what it was: rank felony abuse, not deadly torture.” – May 15, 8pm.
“Yes, prisoners have died at Abu Ghraib – that place is hideous, like Ralph Peters I think we should have blown it up in May 2003- but I don’t see any murder charges on the list… There is this: “Manadel al-Jamadi, Abu Ghraib, Iraq, Nov. 4, 2003. Died during interrogation. Several Navy SEALs charged; and two CIA personnel under investigation.” That’s suspicious. Is there an update on this particular investigation?” – May 16, 8.34 pm. To recap:
On Nov. 4, 2003, Manadel al-Jamadi was found dead in the showers of Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad. Al-Jamadi was a detainee who, according to a Navy SEAL testifying in a military court a year later, had probably been beaten by interrogators the night before.
Perhaps you could argue that beating someone in the head until they are dead and then celebrating that death does not constitute “deadly torture.” I’d prefer not to start making those kinds of distinctions. I’ll leave that to Alberto Gonzales. One of the most sickening pictures we have been allowed to see of Abu Ghraib was of Sabrina Harman, smiling and giving a thumbs up next to the battered face of al-Jamadi’s corpse. Here’s a pic of Graner, grinning over the quarry. This morning, Harman was found guilty of six different charges of prisoner abuse.
The Dish 