August 18, 2004

Two Abu Ghraib Detainees Killed in Fight

U.S. military police shot and killed two detainees and wounded five others in an effort to put down a massive brawl that broke out Wednesday at the notorious Abu Ghraib  prison facility west of the Iraqi capital.

Troubles began when several detainees attacked another inmate with rocks and tent poles in a fight that quickly escalated, drawing in 200 inmates at a tented detention camp within the sprawling prison compound, said Lt. Col. Barry Johnson, the U.S. military's spokesman for detention operations in Iraq.

Detainees hurled rocks at U.S. soldiers, ignoring "verbal warnings" and then a volley of rubber bullets from U.S. military police, Johnson said.

The military decided to use lethal force because one detainee was at risk of being killed by fellow inmates, he said.

"A determination was made that if lethal force wasn't used, this detainee was going to be killed," Johnson said. "So lethal force was used in the form of aimed shots against those most involved in the direct violence against the individual who was being attacked."

Let's thank the Leftist press for making this situation more possible and even probable!
Yes, Lynndie England and her abusive fellow soldiers may have gone too far with the detainees at Abu Ghraid, but what all the GIs are trying to do as guards there is to establish authority and control unquestionably over their inmates.
Because the media chose to "expose" this "scandal" (which was already being investigated by the Pentagon), it undermined that authority and control in the minds of the enemy and as we know only too well, they've milked the opportunity for all it's worth!
Not only that, but the continuous coverage and monitoring of our detainee control methods has all but tied the hands of the soldiers who are trying to handle these thugs!
As is obvious, these are not *nice* men and even in prison, they live by the same creed that got them there--Kill or be killed.
In times of war, there are always going to be a few bad eggs on the side of the Good Guys who go over the line, but most of our soldiers don't and they deserve every tool we can allow them to keep the enemy from killing any more (even if it's their own guys in prison).