US troops admit abuse

Washington: One in ten US troops in Iraq has mistreated an Iraqi and that 45 per cent of soldiers would not report civilian maltreatment, according to a new survey by an army mental health advisory team.

The report, released on Friday, also found that at least 30 per cent of Marines insulted civilians and 12 per cent damaged or destroyed Iraqi property unnecessarily. More than 40 per cent support the idea of torture in some cases.

"Soldiers with high levels of anger, who had experienced high levels of combat or who screened positive for mental health symptoms were nearly twice as likely to mistreat non combatants," Major General Gale Pollock, the acting army surgeon general, told reporters at a press conference.

Of the 1,320 soldiers and 447 marines surveyed, almost 38 per cent said that torture should be allowed in order to gather “important information about insurgents''.

"These men and women have been seeing their friends injured and I think that having that thought is normal," said Pollock, but she added: "They're not acting on those thoughts. They're not torturing the people."

The survey comes amid claims that US soldiers in Iraq have mistreated Iraqi detainees and civilians. The survey was conducted by US army medical experts between August 28 and October 3 last year.

Results of US combat survey

- Sixty-two per cent of soldiers and 66 per cent of Marines said they knew someone seriously injured or killed, or that a member of their team had become a casualty.

- The 2006 adjusted rate of suicides per 100,000 soldiers was 17.3 soldiers, lower than the 19.9 rate reported in 2005.

- Only 47 per cent of the soldiers and 38 per cent of Marines said noncombatants should be treated with dignity and respect.

- About a third of troops said they had insulted or cursedat civilians in their presence.

- About 10 per cent of soldiers and Marines reported mistreating civilians or damaging property when it was not necessary.

- Forty-four per cent of Marines and 41 per cent of soldiers said torture should be allowed to save the lifeof a soldier or Marine.

- Thirty-nine per cent of Marines and 36 per cent of soldiers said torture should be allowed to gather important information from insurgents.

Have your say
Should there be a stipulation on the duration of combat time that a soldier can undergo? Would it help? Is it acceptable for ethics to be subject to stress? Does it happen often in life? In which other environment do you feel it happens? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com or fill in the form below to send your comments.

Especially during combat or special operations, a soldier must always use his brain more than his muscles. I think these soldiers must take a walk. They should learn to respect another human beings instead of torturing them both mentally and physically.
Mudassar
Dubai,UAE

It seems that this problem would be pretty standard in all wars considering that the job of a soldier isn't to make friends. This is a question of "otherness" or "us" and "them." Anyone entering a situation where they have to combat another people will always find ways to justify it. We see this not only in war, but in law enforcement and immigration issues. I think that reducing the number of tours a soldier is forced to serve, and banning tour extensions, would help though. Despite what our friends at the Pentagon and White House say, soldiers don't take tour extensions in their stride; actually it fills them with a tremendous sense of anger and also the knowledge that there isn't a damn thing they can do about it. However, such limitations will never come into existence because without them we loose our ability to artificially stave off a draft; thus the war will end before the tactics do.
Charlie
Palatine,USA