Zeev's Turnips Talk Politics (ZTTP)

[Rick Faurot]

Rueful Rumsfeld: `Cruel' truth hurts: Rape and murder feared in Iraq abuse
By Noelle Straub
Saturday, May 8, 2004
http://news.bostonherald.com/national/view.bg?articleid=22093
WASHINGTON - The Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal took an explosive turn yesterday with the revelation that photos and graphic videotapes not yet made public show abuses more horrific than those already seen.

Signaling the worst revelations are yet to come, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld said the additional photos show ``acts that can only be described as blatantly sadistic, cruel and inhuman.''

``There are a lot more photographs and videos that exist,'' Rumsfeld testified before Congress.

``If these are released to the public, obviously it's going to make matters worse. That's just a fact.''

The unreleased images show American soldiers beating one prisoner almost to death, apparently raping a female prisoner, acting inappropriately with a dead body, and taping Iraqi guards raping young boys, according to NBC News.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said the scandal is ``going to get worse'' and warned that the most ``disturbing'' revelations haven't yet been made public.

``The American public needs to understand, we're talking about rape and murder here,'' he said. ``We're not just talking about giving people a humiliating experience; we're talking about rape and murder and some very serious charges.''

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