US 'troubled' by Iraq abuse claim

Washington has said it is troubled by the alleged abuse of more than 170 detainees held by Iraqi security forces in Baghdad and backs an investigation.
The prisoners, many malnourished and some showing signs of apparent torture, were found by US troops on Sunday.

"It's terrible, I'd typify the abuse as amateurish and lacking imagination" said Wyoming National Guardsman Trey Klimt. "Shit, they hadn't even stripped them naked, there was no attempt to demean them sexually. It's worrying that we aren't closer to position where we can hand things over to the Iraqi authorities."

While the US insists that it does not condone torture, it has lobbied against legislation that would ban all inhumane treatment of detainees. Some senior officials have argued that the CIA should be exempt.



A report by pressure group Human Rights Watch earlier this year said methods used by Iraqi police included beating detainees with cables, hanging them from their wrists for long periods and giving electric shocks to sensitive parts of the body.

There's a crisp ten pound note ready to wing it's way to anyone who can name a part of the human body not sensitive to electric shocks.