Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to Lawmakers

[Barrett808]

Source: OneWorld

Iraq Veterans Describe Atrocities to Lawmakers
Aaron Glantz

WASHINGTON, May 16 (OneWorld) - Antiwar veterans of the U.S. wars in Iraq and Afghanistan took their case to Capitol Hill Thursday, baring their souls with stories of killings of innocent civilians, torture, and wrongful detentions.

"On several occasions our convoys came upon bodies that had been lying on the road, sometimes for weeks," said Marine Corps veteran Vincent Emanuele, who served in al-Qaim near the Syrian border in 2004 and 2005.

"When encountering these bodies standard procedure was to run over the corpses, sometimes even stopping and taking pictures, which was also standard practice when encountering the dead in Iraq," he told the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which organized the hearing.

Emanuele also said that U.S. military personnel often took "pot shots" at cars passing by.

"Our rules of engagement stated that we should first fire warning shots into the ground in front of the car, then the engine block, and the windshield. That is if the car was even moving in the first place," he said. "Many times cars that actually had pulled off to the side of the road were also shot at."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/oneworld/20080516/wl_oneworld/45361605671210979234

[kas125]

1. Thank you for posting this.

I am very proud to say that Vince Emanuele is a friend of mine. He works tirelessly for IVAW and it's about time that Congress listen to the people who were there.