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May 4, 2004, Scotsman DOUBTS GROW OVER TRUTH BEHIND ARMY ABUSE PICTURES Gethin Chamberlain Defence Correspondent THE pictures were genuinely shocking: a British soldier urinating on a hooded Iraqi captive, another picture of a rifle butt smashing into the man's groin, another of a kick aimed at his head. For the Daily Mirror, a paper that had made a virtue of its anti-war stance, they seemed almost too good to be true. Yesterday, it seemed they that they really could be too good to be true. Glaring errors in the composition and content of the pictures left few connected with the army in any doubt that they had been staged. The vehicle the soldiers were in never operated in Iraq, the rifle was all wrong and there were problems with the way the soldiers dressed. No-one was sweating, though the regiment involved, the Queen's Lancashire Regiment, was in Iraq at the height of the summer. And the prisoner appeared to be wearing a Syrian flag on his T-shirt. The damage, however, had already been done. The images that appeared in the Daily Mirror and were reprinted in newspapers around the world have shattered the image of the British army and done irrevocable harm to its mission in southern Iraq. If they generate as much anger in Iraq as they have at home, they may cost the lives of British soldiers. The irony is that there are many who would have been prepared to believe the allegations of mistreatment of prisoners had they not been accompanied by such dubious photographs. The QLR was already facing accusations about their conduct in Iraq. They had seen colleagues die: they were unlikely to be well-disposed towards those in their custody. It was all too possible that someone may have stepped over the line. Sir Clive Fairweather, the former deputy commander of the SAS, said as much yesterday: "I would not be at all surprised to hear that British soldiers are up to something," he said. "I quite expect much worse things to come out of that region." But he did not believe the photographs were genuine: "I don't see the signs of sweat and blood and tears," he said. "It doesn't seem to ring true. It all seems too carefully posed." The quality and composition of the pictures have troubled photographic experts, who have questioned how pictures taken in such difficult circumstances are so sharp and so carefully framed. Questions have also been asked about why they are not in colour and why the poses appear staged and unconvincing. But it is what the pictures show that has raised the most doubt. The most serious anomaly is the lorry in which the prisoner sits. Army sources are convinced that it is a four- tonne Bedford lorry, a vehicle which was not available in Iraq for the QLR. However, Bedford four-tonners are widely used on Cyprus, where the QLR is currently based. The lorry is also extremely clean, with no evidence of sand or the normal clutter that would be expected in the back of a military vehicle, and although most soft-skinned vehicles had their covers removed in Iraq, the one in the picture has canvas sides. Even the soldiers who are said to have made the allegations are unable to explain this. In yesterday's Mirror, one said he was not sure what make the truck was. Soldiers who have served in Iraq and who have examined the pictures have also raised serious doubts about the weapon that is seen in some of the shots. It appears to be an early model of the standard- issue SA80 rifle, a Mark I, although all troops in Iraq had Mark II rifles. But what any soldier who has served in Iraq will immediately notice is the uncovered open end of the barrel. Soldiers routinely cover the end of the rifle with a standard issue plastic tip, and adhesive tape or even a condom to prevent sand getting into the barrel. In Iraq, where cleaning the rifles regularly is essential to prevent jamming, it is almost inconceivable that a soldier would not have taken this precaution. Concern has also been raised about some of the soldiers' other equipment. They do not appear to be wearing body armour, although it would be standard practice to wear a flak jacket when travelling in a soft- skinned vehicle. More tellingly, according to experienced soldiers, the pouches visible on the soldiers' webbing appear to be largely empty and unfastened. Army sources say it is extremely unlikely that this would be the case in a combat zone where the soldiers could have expected to need to move quickly and to have ammunition to hand. There are other details that do not ring true. The soldiers in the photograph appear to have tucked their trousers into their boots, another unusual practice for a country such as Iraq where the aim is to keep out sand. Trousers are usually worn over the top of the boots, held in place with elastic bands. The hessian sack over the head of the prisoner is not the normal type issued to soldiers . The soldiers quoted in the Mirror are unable to explain this. And then there is the prisoner himself. His skin colour is hard to tell from the pictures. But what has puzzled those who have looked closely at the pictures is the T-shirt that he is wearing. One of the soldiers quoted in the Mirror said he had seen dozens of Iraqis wearing just such a T-shirt. Yesterday the Mirror was sticking to its story. "We told the truth", its front page proclaimed. But evidence against its pictures was mounting.
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................................................................................................................. Copyright ©2004 Gethin Chamberlain. All rights reserved. |
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