U.S. Soldier Killed Herself -- After Refusing to Take Part in Torture

[ProSense]

Greg Mitchell

U.S. Soldier Killed Herself -- After Refusing to Take Part in Torture

With each new revelation on U.S. torture in Iraq, Afghanistan and Gitmo (and who, knows, probably elsewhere), I am reminded of the chilling story of Alyssa Peterson, who I have written about numerous times in the past three years but now with especially sad relevance. Appalled when ordered to take part in interrogations that, no doubt, involved what we would call torture, she refused, then killed herself a few days later, in September 2003.

Of course, we now know from the torture memos and the U.S. Senate committee probe and various new press reports, that the "Gitmo-izing" of Iraq was happening just at the time Alyssa got swept up in it.

Alyssa Peterson was one of the first female soldiers killed in Iraq. A cover-up, naturally, followed.

Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Ariz., native, served with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a "non-hostile weapons discharge."

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[AtomicKitten]

1. This is heartbreaking, a casualty of BushCo's policy of torture.

Her family must be devastated particularly now with the full breadth of the horrific atrocities exposed. She deserves a posthumous medal for her courage in refusing to comply. Hell, she deserves her life back.

Damn them to hell.

:cry:

[depakid]

2. Time to start connecting all the dots

and tracking back to those ultimately responsible.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. September 2003...Iraq spinning out of control...

This was just in the wake of the UN bombing (8/19), and still no WMD or al-Qaeda links.

It's very clear why this policy was intensified and normalized as the Iraq fiasco unfolded.

[empyreanisles]

4. This was tragic, but do we know for sure the suicide was because of the torture orders?

It just sounds a bit too sensational.

[ProSense]

6. So does waterboarding a person 183 times in a month. On edit: Also, consider her

role: Arabic-speaking interrogator.

[empyreanisles]

10. BTW, Joe Scarborough provided some clarity on those "183" times figures.

Look, its not that I follow Scarborough on ANYTHING, but what he said made sense.

It was not 183 distinct torture sessions, but rather, 183 discrete pourings of water.

True, it doesn't make it any "better", but it adds more credibility to the numbers.

[ProSense]

11. "It was not 183 distinct torture sessions, but rather, 183 discrete pourings of water."

Scarborough is on crack.

[Born_A_Truman]

12. He was particularly obnoxious this morning

trying to make it sound like it was 183 drops of water. He played it down to being trivial.

My husband is furious at these people downplaying waterboarding. He was waterboarded 5 or 6 times in SERE school and went into convulsions. A doctor was there the whole time. It's torture. Period.

[vaberella]

5. This is the first time I'm hearing about this. Oh God! These people are evil incarnate. n/t

[nomaco-10]

7. This sad story will never make it to the MSM. unfortunately. n/t

[firedupdem]

8. What a sad story. I don't know how these people sleep at night. n/t

[Bonobo]

9. My bet would be that she was suicided.

From the article:

"The Arizona Republic, three days after her death, reported that Army officials "said that a number of possible scenarios are being considered, including Peterson's own weapon discharging, the weapon of another soldier discharging, or the accidental shooting of Peterson by an Iraqi civilian." And that might have ended it right there."

"Elston said that the documents also refer to a suicide note found on her body, which suggested that she found it ironic that suicide prevention training had taught her how to commit suicide. He filed another FOIA request for a copy of the actual note. It did not emerge."

I bet she was killed. She knew too much.

[dgibby]

13. If anyone believes she committed suicide, please contact me,

cause I've got a great bridge in Brooklyn I'd like to sell you.

According to the military, she killed herself with a RIFLE while on guard duty. How did she do that, considering the length of her arms and the length of the rifle? Why wouldn't she just use her sidearm? This makes no sense.

I filed this one right next to the Pat Tillman story.

[JayMusgrove]

16. Apparently you find the task of reading the full article too much

to deal with. And your presumption as to which gun a person would choose, (a rifle can, indeed, be used for suicide, even by women), and your presumptions about her size, her position, etc, show that you really are here only to show off your superior skepticism; you have nothing else going for you.

[dgibby]

17. And it would appear that you are here only to show off your

superior condescension. If that's what it takes to make you feel good about yourself, then I'm happy to help. Have a nice day.

[DevonRex]

18. I don't believe it either. And this explains how soldiers are coerced into

torturing.

[Faryn Balyncd]

14. How many suicides have resulted from honorable soldiers asked to act immorally?

[SpiralHawk]

15. Apparently, she could not lower herself to engage in Republicon 'Family Values'

Republicons have just stunk out this nation with their putrid, perverse and anti-Christian brand of 'morality.'

[DURHAM D]

19. Why is it always the women? n/t

[noiretextatique]

20. this poor young woman may have taken her own life

but LeVena Johnson definitely did not. tends to make one suspicious.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=93493468&ft=1&f=1021