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Former Navy Seal sues Rumsfeld

Tricky

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Tricky
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A former Navy seal, (who also happens to be an Iranian-American filmmaker) was detained in an Iranian prison for two months because potential bomb parts were found in a taxi in which he was riding.

The only reason he was released is because his family sued the federal government. Now it looks as if they are aiming even higher.
In addition to Rumsfeld, the defendants include Army Gen. George W. Casey Jr., commanding general of the multinational forces in Iraq, and Maj. Gen. William H. Brandenburg, who was in charge of detainee operations in Iraq at the time of Kar's detention.
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But at least, being an American, he wasn't mistreated.
Kar said that while he was imprisoned he was at various times hooded and threatened, taunted and insulted by U.S. soldiers. One soldier slammed Kar's head into a concrete wall, the suit said.
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This is only within the last two months. Apparently the message that the US does not abuse prisoners hasn't quite filtered down to the rank and file.

But never fear. In actuality, he was "properly detained" and his two month's detention without review shows how well the system works.
When Kar was released, military officials said that he had been properly detained as "an imperative security threat" and that the matter had been handled and resolved appropriately.

"This case highlights the effectiveness of our detainee review process," spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Don Alston said following Kar's release.
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I feel much better now that it has been explained.
 
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong taxi driver. The washing machine timers belonged to the taxi driver. I'm sorry, but if I was in Iraq and found an Iranian looking guy who had parts to make I.E.D.'s in the vehicle with him, I would hold him for questioning without a second thought. I wouldn't care that he was claiming to be a veteran.

What kind of bone-headed move is it for someone of Iranian descent to be going to Iraq at this time in history? You are in danger not only from Americans but from Iraqis who might target you.

It is disturbing if there is still mistreatment and torture going on at Abu Graib.

Kar's group was shackled, blindfolded and driven to Tikrit, in northern Iraq. U.S. officials there decided to take them to the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, where Kar and his group say they were subjected to violence and humiliation.
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/International/story?id=1065736&page=2
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edited because my chronology was wrong, since the article, which I forgot to link was unclear on the exact date of his capture. sheesh
 
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Oh by the way guys, that
Edited by Darat: 
Breach of Rule 8 removed.
was never a SEAL.
 
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After reading a bit about this fellow, I take back what I said earlier. It sounds like this guy got worked over for no good reason.

I don't think he was a Navy Seal though, other reports have him serving on an aircraft carrier and his main motivation for joining was to get his education funded.

I can understand his desire to go to Iraq for his filming project, but it is a freakin' dangerous place to go into. I find it hard to work up much sympathy for anyone who is there that doesn't absolutely have to be there.

If we are mistreating detainees (slamming one's head into concrete would be an example of this, OTOH sleep deprivation? intimidation? no, it is part of interrogation.) it MUST be addressed and dealt with. However, one must take into consideration the effect of an insurgency on people who would probably be more civil under other circumstances. This is what an insurgency is all about, you make the troops nervous enough fighting an invisible enemy and sooner or later things will happen that are good PR for the bad guys.

It was of primary importance to the U.S. military that NLF operatives be eliminated. Accordingly, rather than measuring success by the acquisition of territory or strategic locations (for example), missions were evaluated based on their "body count" - the number of presumed NLF operatives killed. Owing to the fact that it was often very difficult for a NLF operative to be distinguished from a non-combatant, there was often a wide discrepancy between the declared body count for a particular mission, and the number of enemy weapons recovered. According to University of Missouri–Kansas City law professor Doug Linder, GIs joked that "anything that's dead and isn't white is a VC" for body count purposes. There is no doubt that many civilians were killed in the province, fueling existing anti-American sentiment in the region.

Insurgents were sometimes housed and sheltered by civilians in the area, and American soldiers were frustrated with the complicity of the local people. Together with their inability to close with an elusive enemy and pervasive fear of ambush, this resentment made violent reprisals against civilians more likely.
My Lai Massacre
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peptoabysmal said:
He was in the wrong place at the wrong time with the wrong taxi driver. The washing machine timers belonged to the taxi driver. I'm sorry, but if I was in Iraq and found an Iranian looking guy who had parts to make I.E.D.'s in the vehicle with him, I would hold him for questioning without a second thought. I wouldn't care that he was claiming to be a veteran.

What kind of bone-headed move is it for someone of Iranian descent to be going to Iraq at this time in history? You are in danger not only from Americans but from Iraqis who might target you.
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Ah, so it's his own damn fault. I had forgotten about that rule.

Seriously Pepe, I can understand them taking him, but holding him for two months? How long would it take to verify his story? A couple of days at most. Meanwhile, it could be possible to hold him without mistreating him for a few days. Or does that violate some kind of policy?
***
ETA
Just saw your most recent. I knew you would look at all sides. But I'm letting the message stand as a pre-emptive strike to others who would use the blame-the-victim tack.
 
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Azure said:
Very funny wise-ass.

LINK

Every single SEAL on there has been verified. But hey, if you want to play "know it all" go right ahead.
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Well THAT was certainly uncalled for, wasn't it?

You make a claim about, "some guy on another forum," and expect people on a Skeptics forum to simply buy your assertion? As for playing "know it all," I don't think Ryokan was out of line at all.

Now MY wise-ass question is; how can you prove the guys on your "SEAL" forum aren't a bunch of wannabees?
 
peptoabysmal said:
I find it hard to work up much sympathy for anyone who is there that doesn't absolutely have to be there.
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What I wonder is, WHY does anyone absolutely have to be there, and what are they hoping to accomplish?

Of course, you could say they HAVE to be there because our government sent them, but our government once sent me someplace I didn't want to be, and it ended up serving no purpose other than to get 59,000 American soldiers killed.

I wonder what the response would be if we gave the soldiers the option of stateside duty as opposed to, "marching up and down the square?"
 
It turns out this guy really was a Navy SEAL!

A couple guys on another forum told me. And they are all verified to have Top Secret clearance, so they were able to confirm it.
 
Kar said that while he was imprisoned he was at various times hooded and threatened, taunted and insulted by U.S. soldiers. One soldier slammed Kar's head into a concrete wall, the suit said.
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And this is different than what happens in any US prison (or police station) every day of the year how, exactly? Especially since we don't know what his demeanor was at the time. I do know that if you smart off to a Chicago cop one too many times getting your head slammed into a wall will be the least you have to worry about.

It may shock some of you, but prisons are rough places filled w/ rough people. People who don't tend to obey you just because you asked nicely and said "pretty please".
 
WildCat said:
It may shock some of you, but prisons are rough places filled w/ rough people. People who don't tend to obey you just because you asked nicely and said "pretty please".
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And I'll bet screaming that you're an American and an ex-military man will probably just enrage them more, but then they probably get that a lot in Iraq. I'm sure they get tired of hearing, "Saddam no good, you numbah one GI." ;)

(edited to wonder) If this guy is actually a Faux Navy SEAL, didn't he think his claims would be investigated in court as part of his lawsuit? Didn't he think that making false statements would jeopardize his case?
 
Azure said:
Very funny wise-ass.
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It's not funny to doubt your claim until you've given the evidence. Now you have. However, the article doesn't state that HE claimed to be ex-navy, the article claims that other reports have said he's ex-navy.
 
WildCat said:
It may shock some of you, but prisons are rough places filled w/ rough people. People who don't tend to obey you just because you asked nicely and said "pretty please".
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I'm not sure I care how prisoners that have already been shown to be guilty in a court of law are treated. However, people that have simply been detained without ANY due process should be treated with respect and dignity.
 
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