Sgt. Samuel Provance of Military Intelligence claims that the guilty knowledge of torture in Abu Ghuraib was much more widespread than the “few bad apples” who are so far being expected to take the rap. He defied orders from this military superiors by giving the story to the press.
‘Definitely a Cover-Up’ 05/18/04 ABCNews.com
Former Staff Sgt. Jimmy Massey of the Marines Corps gives his account of incidents like the following in Iraq:
Atrocities in Iraq: 'I killed innocent people for our government' Sacramento Bee 05/18/04
Q: Who gave the order to wipe the demonstrators out?
A: Higher command. We were told to be on the lookout for the civilians because a lot of the Fedayeen and the Republican Guards had tossed away uniforms and put on civilian clothes and were mounting terrorist attacks on American soldiers. The intelligence reports that were given to us were basically known by every member of the chain of command. The rank structure that was implemented in Iraq by the chain of command was evident to every Marine in Iraq. The order to shoot the demonstrators, I believe, came from senior government officials, including intelligence communities within the military and the U.S. government.
Former Army Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia goes AWOL and applies for conscientious objector status after observing criminal abuse of prisoners by the Army in Iraq.
Prison Abuse Scandal Goes Right to the Top by Joe Conason New York Observer 05/19/04
What these stories have in common is that they are all examples of current and former soldiers indulging in some kind of activities that could certainly be considered antiwar, or at a minimum facilitating serious criticism of the way the Iraq War is actually being fought.
Someday, when the blowhards of the world are ranting about how antiwar activists were not "supporting our troops" or were spitting on them or calling them baby killers or something, it will be worth remembering what criticism of the Iraq War was like in real time. And from whom it was coming.
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