ABUSE CRISIS: Soldiers Ordered to Lie About Abuse, page 1

A commander charged over his soldiers allegedly forcing two Iraqi men to jump off of a bridge into the Tigris river, testified that he told the soldiers involved to lie about what happened. The commander only stated this after he had been granted immunity. At least one of the Iraqi men forced off the bridge died, most likely due to complications from the incident.

www.cnn.com
FORT CARSON, Colorado (CNN) -- The commander of soldiers charged with forcing two Iraqi men to jump off a bridge into the Tigris river -- possibly resulting in the death of one of the detainees -- admitted in a hearing Friday he told his soldiers to lie about the incident.

Lt. Cmdr. Nathan Sassaman -- who was granted immunity for his testimony, but also received a reprimand -- said he told his men "not to talk about the water" because he was concerned with the way the military's Criminal Investigation Division was handling the case.

Please visit the link provided for the complete story.

The US soliders responsible for the incident also stated that they were under orders from a superior that was there when the abuse happened.

Also, several days after the abuse occured the soldiers had previously stated that they had heard a body was found in the river. During the trial proceedings though, they stated that they immediately saw two men walk up and out of the river.

[edit on 31-7-2004 by SkepticOverlord]