Thursday, November 02, 2006

Female soldier committed suicide over interrogation techniques in Iraq

The third woman to die in Iraq, Army Specialist Alyssa Peterson, 27, from Flagstaff, Arizona, was reported as having died from a "non-hostile weapons discharge." A reporter who dug further, Kevin Elston, found that she committed suicide on September 15, 2003, after becoming distraught from working in an interrogation unit known as "the cage." Peterson, a devout Mormon who was working as an Arabic translator, was upset by the methods of interrogation being used on Iraqi prisoners. After two days in the unit, she refused to participate further, was reassigned, and was sent to suicide prevention training.

Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques that Peterson objected to, and say that all records of them have been destroyed.

8 comments:

William Zeranski said...

She committed suicide, so she a smart soldier or one of the dumb ones? Go ask John Kerry--the genius (ha).

The tragedy is she was a 27 year old woman who wasn’t even committed to her own life or her Mormon faith.

Lippard said...

Failure to be committed to Mormon faith is no tragedy, but it's not fair to say that anyone who commits suicide is not committed to their faith. There are few, if any, people who are entirely consistent in following the doctrines of their faith.

Do you not think that there might have been something wrong with the interrogation techniques and the leadership who was demanding that they be used (and then destroying the evidence of what they were)?

jbenjaminwhite, m.s., m.a., phd said...

william, your comment is ridiculous. perhaps it was the tension between honoring the tenets of faith and the duty to nation which led to an irreconcilable inner turmoil from which suicide presented a sole escape? perhaps, in those moments, hours, days, what she witnessed, and indeed became complicit in, shattered any delusion of integrity in either her religion or her nation's evangelical leader? perhaps she was the wise one, and folks who sneer at suffering, her own, and others, the fools from whom suicide presented itself as her only escape.

frankly, john kerry is proven a brave man, who fought the good fight, and lost to dishonest fear-mongering sneer-artists. perhaps you have been fooled on this one, too? the wise man is always vulnerable to the clever man, as the wise man looks far ahead, and the clever man is distracted by daily glitter and gold. but, the wise man is the better leader, and as clever men betray them, we are left as we are now, led by bigots and cons.

this soldier's suicide is a symptom of the sickness that pervades our culture, the rot of which fumes from your malignant remark.

GoogleSUCKS said...

As I recall she 'committed suicide' by a bullet to the back of the head. The military put 'suicide'as cause of death, but it was actually murder. Hey they murdered Tillman too and covered that up with another BS story. It happens everyday in our ponerized military. The merchants of death value no human lives. Not even of their own co-workers. Besides the fact they claim to 'fight for freedom' with their lips as they work for corperate greed and false liberty. Occupation is not 'democracy'. Everything the powers that be tell you are deceptions.Including false suicides. Fact is this woman had a conscience and was murdered for doing the right thing. No one suicides themselves by a bullet to the back of the head.

Lippard said...

Where did you obtain evidence that she was shot in the back of the head? Kevin Elston, the reporter who uncovered her suicide (the government had claimed it was an accidental weapons discharge), reported that she shot herself with her own service rifle.

Your words "As I recall" suggest that you do not have a source to support your claim.

It's also not yet been established that Pat Tillman was murdered (as opposed to accidentally killed)--there is some contradictory testimony and evidence about the circumstances of his death. I don't think it's been ruled out, and it may well be that his outspoken atheist views contributed to his being murdered, but it hasn't been demonstrated yet.

It has, however, been demonstrated that the government is happy to lie and cover up embarrassing information in both of these cases.

Dave Holmes said...

What always disturbs me the most about any subject shedding light on what's wrong in America right now is met by stupid uninformed comments from brainwashed ignorant people. How anyone could support bush and his war, let alone his burning of the Constitution just baffles me. Maybe people, being tribal and sheep-like, just don't want to see reality. This worked for Hitler and it's working for Bush. (If you choose to be offended by this, don't be. Just reasearch and inform yourself). I'm astounded by the masses sitting on their hands doing nothing. The only ones that can stop Bush is Americans, what the hell are we waiting for? IMPEACH THIS ADMINISTRATION!!!

Albert Krauss said...

Bravo, Webmaster, re the sheep etc. Now, let's jam Sicko down the dumbed out brains of the American "masses" and wake them to the possibility of real revolution, as in mass actions to default on hospital bills, picket HMO offices, and completely stomp out Republican political life, and vote for guys like Kucinich, and not Demo corporate clones. Rouse the rabble, and they shall become enlightened in the process. I'd love to see Cheney's body dragged through the streets as was Mussolini's. He'd have to be legally hanged, of course, after being found guilty of treason, war crimes, and whatever else the laundry list will surely provide.

Unknown said...

Ha ha ha ...
As usual your funny "American-intellectual" debate has missed the point by a mile again!
Fact: For a religious person to commit suicide (i.e. commit one of the biggest sins) something extremly bad must have happened.
Fact: This "extremly bad event" was done in YOUR name by YOUR employees (i.e. YOUR military).
Fact: Well done to publish the story, but you are debating the non-facts (is she committed? who is she? etc etc.)
To summarize: Reading the story and the following debate, I can understand why your goverment can get away with stuff that would have given Hitler a stiffy!
Stop this nonsence! and more importantly STOP YOUR GOVERNMENT before they kill us all! PLEASE!