U.S. Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques

I heard the awful news on NPR's Morning Edition about a U.S. soldier who killed herself after refusing to take part in torture of Iraqi prisoners, back in Sept of 2003. Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, was an Arabic speaking interrogator who was assigned to a prison at the Tal Afar air base in Iraq. She had earned her psychology degree on a military scholarship and was a gifted linguist.

The incident, which happened three years ago, would have not been public knowledge if it had not been for the tireless efforts of KNAU reporter Kevin Elston, who wasn't satisfied with the official account. He requested a transcript of the official investigation of her death under the Freedom of Information Act. The news was originally broadcast on Arizona Public Radio on Oct 31st, 2006. That story was removed from the KNAU website a day later, apparently due to objections from the military. See correction to Alyssa Peterson story.

The following are excerpts are from the Editor & Publisher article dated Nov 1, 2006:
Alyssa Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed. ....

Peterson became fluent in Dutch even before she went on an 18-month Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints mission to the Netherlands in the late 1990s. Then, she cruised through her Arabic courses at the military's Defense Language Institute in Monterey, Calif., shortly after enlisting in July 2001. With that under her belt, she was off to Iraq to conduct interrogations and translate enemy documents. God only knows how many more translators and interpreters have found themselves in similar situations, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to?

Kathy

Tal-afar airbase translator committed suicide in 2003

The following item was published on the KNAU (Arizona Public Radio) website on October 31.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/knau/news.newsmain

Alyssa Peterson Suicide
Kevin Elston

10/31/06 (2006-10-31) Army specialist Alyssa Peterson was an Arabic speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at the Tal-afar airbase in far northwestern Iraq near the Syrian border. According to the Army's investigation into her death, obtained by a KNAU reporter through the Freedom of Information Act, Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed.

Instead she was assigned to the base gate, where she monitored Iraqi guards. She was sent to suicide prevention training. But on the night of September 15th, 2003, Army investigators concluded she shot and killed herself with her service rifle.

Alyssa Peterson graduated from Flagstaff High School and earned a psychology degree from Northern Arizona University on a military scholarship. She was trained in interrogation techniques at Fort Huachuca in southern Arizona, before being deployed to the Middle East in 2003.

The link now points to a "correction" and the initial story can no longer be accessed.

The story certainly touched a raw nerve. The army, of course, denies any connection between the interrogations and her suicide. It sounds bad when stories like this leak out. Interesting that "all records of those techniques have now been destroyed."

Although we may never know with certainty whether Alyssa Peterson killed herself rather than carry out interrogations she objected to, what appears clear is that she got herself into a situation from which she could not extricate herself.

There does appear to be a suicide note. What do you suppose the chances are that Kevin Elston's filing under the Freedom of Information Act to view that suicide note will be successful?

Read more at:

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/search/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003345862

The German government 'knew about CIA torture cells' -- shortly after 9/11

A short item in the British newspaper The Independent, on October 26 that was reprinted in the New Zealand Herald, reports that the German magazine Stern quoted a leaked German intelligence report showing that two of its agents and a translator had visited the US Eagle Base in Tuzla, Bosnia -- shortly after 9/11. The Germans had been asked to assist. While there they saw a torture victim, a 70-year-old terrorist suspect whose "injuries meant that he had to be given 20 stitches to the head wounds he sustained." According to the report, the American interrogator "appeared to be proud" of his actions.

Stern said the German agents had also been given access to documents confiscated by the Americans which were "smeared with blood". One agent was said to have compared the actions of the US interrogators to Serbian war criminals during the break up of Yugoslavia. "The Serbs ended up before the international court in the Hague for this kind of thing."

The two German agents and their translator had been asked to appear at the base to assist the Americans in interrogating suspects and to help evaluate confiscated material. However, according to the leaked report, they informed Germany's Federal Prosecutor of what they had witnessed and left the base shortly afterwards.

Eagle Base was set up in 1995 as part of the Dayton Peace Accords, in part because Bosnia had become a haven for Afghani mujahedin involved in plotting terror attacks.

Everyone can agree on the need to bring those responsible for the 9/11 atrocity to justice; however, it is clear that torture was being used immediately after -- and that translators were needed to do the job effectively.