Letter from one DOD official to another DOD official concerning the discovery of a PowerPoint presentation containing 49 slides of pictures of abuse by US troops in Iraq in the very early phase of the war. Slides include pics of Iraqi men kneeling naked in the dirt with their hands tied behind their backs. The matter was sent up the chain of command and this letter is a follow-up on a previous discussion on the matter.
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From:
Sent: Friday, June 04, 2004 9:31 AM
To:
Subject: Keesler AFB -- Photos of EPWs/Detainees (Part 1 of 3)
Here's the info we discussed earlier today. It concerns the discovery of
photos apparently taken during US Army operations in Iraq. In them are what
appear to be detainees or EPWs. When our AFOSI detachment at Keesler APB,
Biloxi, MS, first learned of it, base command officials were concerned three
may have been a LOAC violation but after further review
I've been told that the individual who took the photos and made the CD is a
who is currently at Keesler APB to
rehabilitate. He was wOunded in Iraq and was sent to Landstuhl and/or
Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I understand that Sen. Trent Lott
requested that
so that's why he's at Keesler Medical Center.
On 3 Jun 04,. received a. copy of the CD made
by the soldier. The CD had two files, one of which was a Powerpoint
presentation with 49 slides, about 21 MB. Most of the slides were photos of
US Army activities, something I would describe as the "the drive to Baghdad"
during early phases of the war (0IF). There are many photos of Army
vehicles and soldiers, but what caught the.attention were the
photos of detainees/EPWs. One of the photos had what appeared to be olive
complected males, probably of Iraqi or Middle Eastern descent, that are
naked. They are outdoors, kneeling on the dirt, have their arms behind
their backs, probably secured by flexi.lcuffs, and they are being guarded by
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an armed soldier. These photos do not appear to show any physical abuse,
and on the face .of it they do not appear to show any LOAC violations, but
they are likely in violation of the joint regulations prohibiting
photography of EPWs.
I've upchanneled this info to HQ AFOSI so they're aware of it. I provided
the phone numbers and contacts for CID at Ft Rucker and Ft Polk to our
detachment at Keesler AFB, They'll make contact with the appropriate CID
unit to refer the matter to. them. We've assessed that since the subject is
an Army soldier, and the photos were taken during Army operations, CID would
have operational interest in this matter.
As stated above, the Powerpoint presentation in which the photos were found
is large (21 MB; 49 slides total). I obtained it from our detachment at
Keesler AFB and then created excerpts here to give you a look• at the ones
that caused concern. Here are the two photos which caused the most concern
when they -were first found.
«Excerptl of Presentationl.ppt»
I'll send you two more e-mails, each with two photos with images of
detainees or EPWs.
FYI, I believe this material is unclassified but sensitive, so I'm sending
via SIPRNET.
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