Why is the USA military making mistakes like this?

Question

Navy veteran accuses U.S. military of holding him prisoner
By Matt O'Connor

CHICAGO - A Chicago man who worked for an Iraqi contractor alleged Monday he was imprisoned in a U.S. military compound in Baghdad, held incommunicado for more than three months and subjected to interrogation techniques "tantamount to torture."

In a federal lawsuit filed in Chicago, Donald Vance, 29, a Navy veteran, charged that his constitutional rights were trampled by American military interrogators even though they knew he was a U.S. citizen.

"I couldn't believe they did this to any human being," said Vance in a telephone interview.

Vance was taken into custody without charges in April. While imprisoned at Camp Cropper near Baghdad International Airport, Vance said, he was held in solitary confinement in a continuously lit, windowless and extremely cold cell as loud heavy metal and country music blared nonstop. Vance said the military men loved to torture and said "this is for America".

Answer 1

This story just broke yesterday. The New York Times, CBS and several other major news outlets are starting to pick it up. (I have linked the NYT and CBS stories below). While all the details are not yet out, it appears to be a genuine mix-up. Mr. Vance was an employee of a security contractor in Iraq. He began to notice serious irregularities, including his employer stock piling weapons and conducting business with shady characters. He reported it and became an informer for the FBI. The military conducted a raid against the company and he got caught up in the sweep. It took them a fairly long time (3 weeks) to confirm his story with his FBI contact. I am copying and pasting the military's current response:

"A spokeswoman for the Pentagon’s detention operations in Iraq, First Lt. Lea Ann Fracasso, said in written answers to questions that the men had been “treated fair and humanely,” and that there was no record of either man complaining about their treatment. She said officials did not reach Mr. Vance’s contact at the F.B.I. until he had been in custody for three weeks. Even so, she said, officials determined that he “posed a threat” and decided to continue holding him. He was released two months later, Lieutenant Fracasso said, based on a “subsequent re-examination of his case,” and his stated plans to leave Iraq.Only days later did they receive an explanation: They had become suspects for having associated with the people Mr. Vance tried to expose. “You have been detained for the following reasons: You work for a business entity that possessed one or more large weapons caches on its premises and may be involved in the possible distribution of these weapons to insurgent/terrorist groups,” Mr. Ertel’s (another employee detained with Mr. Vance) detention notice said."

I am not going to jump to any hasty conclusions - this sounds like one of those undercover stings gone bad where the FBI Agent in charge failed to cover for his informant when the bust went down.

Answer 2

Well I know from experience that incidents like this are hardly commonplace, the US military's method of detaining and prosecuting criminals in Iraq is still pretty poor. The reason should be obvious: The military was designed to kill the enemy and detain the survivors or those who surrender. In the current situation the military is doing more of police-type work, and most places lack the security and resources to do real investigations. As it is many are incarcerated for long periods of time and what would be considered weak or circumstantial evidence in the US system.

Of course it is a war zone, so some leeway is to be given to the US forces, but the system needs to be improved before it creates more insurgents than it removes.

Answer 3

This is the first time I have ever heard of this story! I would first have to ask him why the military picked him up and what he was doing? There has to be more to this story then what he is letting on! I'm sure whatever so called torture he received was a lot better then what he would have received from the Iraqi enemy. At least he still has a head maybe, he should say thanks!

Answer 4

because you at the on the spot are not operating the country, of course. considering you've all the solutions, run for workplace. See how a lot more beneficial you need to do!! are seeking extremely solutions or basically attempting to piss off a group of veterans and fix those with the flexibility to have interaction the objective at OVER three hundred meters with deadly accuracy? (some human beings do not imagine beforehand they ask questions!) i'd say the important reason is that that is an insurrection conflict. not like the wars of the previous, the enemy of freedom (take excitement in it, we furnish it for you) would not positioned on a uniform. They mixture in to the peace loving human beings round them. once you need to ask retarded questions like this, you of course do not comprehend that there are human beings (very such as your self) too fowl to face a conflict of words, they gown up as civilians and blow themselves up in a school backyard, police station or outside clean nutrition market. i don't think of you've the flexibility to carry close this difficulty (study: illiterate). have you ever stood up for some thing in man or woman? have you ever secure some thing except your self, your x-field anf your tacky-poofs? have you ever had a chum which could, with no 2d concept, supply his existence for yours, or your for his? i imagine you need to ought to wipe some different person's blood out of your face and hands beforehand asking stupid questions like those.....

Answer 5

Yet another news story, copyrighted one at that, where the habitual liar named erudite (which is the other name used by this nikon camera guy) feels the need to add a COMPLETELY FABRICATED QUOTE to alter the story....

The fabricated statement IS:
"Vance said the military men loved to torture and said "this is for America"."

Once again, you are caught with your inevitable fabrications and lies erudite..... and as always, I link to the ACTUAL article, without fabrications....

you are exposed again....

Answer 6

if you read in the article

"Vance said he and co-worker Nathan Ertel suspected their Iraqi employer, Shield Group Security, of paying off local sheiks for influence in obtaining government contracts."

the company was being looked into as supporting terrorism and and bribing for government contracts, that is why they were interrogated. and that is not torture it is military interrogation and is legal.

Answer 7

Like it was noted in an earlier post, its just one side of a story. We don't pride ourselves in flexing our muscles and bullying people around, we do pride ourselves on getting the job done. Maybe he violated an OPSEC policy and was caught? Besides, what good reason is there to "torture" a government contractor we hired to do a job? Or maybe he got a bad taste from something?

Answer 8

Here's an idea. Why don't you get all the facts before you convict the US military. One article telling one man's side of a story, a man who apparently will stand to profit if his story is validated certainly isn't strong evidence.

Answer 9

This is not a mistake.
It is torture, and it is currently US policy to disregard human rights.
It has never been so blatant before, although we all used to hear about ill-treatment of prisoners by the CIA, but a lot of people were reluctant to believe it.
That has changed in the meantime.

I'm only afraid that this poor guy will have barely a chance in US courts.

Answer 10

Mistakes? No, dear sir/madam, that is simply the nature of nationalistic thought (under the guise of patriotism). No mistake here!

(A citation would have been nice, but I'll give this benefit of the doubt as to the source.)