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The extraordinary Iraq experiences of James Loney

He was tied up with a computer mouse cord, robbed by a guy who lifted his sweater to reveal what was supposed to be a bomb, and rattled by a least one major explosion.
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He was tied up with a computer mouse cord, robbed by a guy who lifted his sweater to reveal what was supposed to be a bomb, and rattled by a least one major explosion.

He was investigating atrocities at Iraq's notorious Abu Ghraib prison more than two months before the mainstream media began covering the story.

He's still being held in Iraq, but SooToday.com has assembled the following extraordinary account of some of the experiences of Saultite Jim Loney and fellow Christian Peacemaker Teams activists from the group's e-mailed letters and reports of a trip to Iraq last year.

Credit for exposing the abuses at Abu Ghraib is usually given to CBS News' 60 Minutes program, and to legendary American investigative reporter Seymour Hersh.

The 60 Minutes investigation was broadcast on April 28, 2004.

Hersh, who first attracted attention in 1969 with his Pulitzer Prize-winning expose of the My Lai massacre, first wrote about the Abu Ghraib atrocities in the online edition of the New Yorker on April 30, 2004.

But the records examined by SooToday.com describe how Jim Loney was documenting stories about the prison's detainees in February, 2004 and other CPT members were at the prison as early as November of the previous year.

The following reports tell a compelling story of violence and human rights abuses, in some cases experienced or witnessed directly by CPT members.

*********************** January 5, 2004 The January delegation - consisting of Jim Loney, Abe Friesen, David Hilfiker, Michele Naar-Obed, Kathleen O'Malley, Jocelyn Perry, Patricia Ruble, and Mary Anne Tangney - arrived.

Initially, everything seemed so normal, nothing like a war zone. The border guards were friendly; the desert was virtually barren and uninhabited with occasional herds of sheep and goats with shepherds nearby, scattered tents or simple houses and very occasional collections of earth-colored cubist buildings.

As we approached Baghdad, we began to notice occasional oases, date palm groves, a wide irrigation ditch.

But on closer inspection, we would notice the areas of recently scorched pavement, the burned-out vehicles beside the road (most of them seemed to be civilian vehicles), one bridge under repair that our driver acknowledged had been bombed out.

People sold black-market gas in large plastic containers along the road, and some lines at the legal pumps in Baghdad (for gas priced at about ten cents a gallon) were over a kilometer long.

An entire line of electrical transmission poles, extending perhaps over a hundred miles through the desert, had been pulled over by looters after the transmission wires.

In Baghdad the American military presence was immediately obvious, as military vehicles passed frequently, almost all of which had a manned, mounted gun that was pointed out toward the people they were passing.

We arrived at our apartment in the Kerrada District about 4:30 p.m. and were ushered into our home for the next two weeks, a spacious, three-bedroom apartment on the ground floor with kitchen, living room, even a working shower.

The windows were heavily curtained to avoid attracting attention, in part because the landlady was very nervous about having more internationals in the building.

We divided into two groups (we were cautioned not to walk in large groups to avoid attention) for a guided tour of the area and were taken up to the rooftop from which we could look across the Tigris River to the Green Zone.

January 6

The delegation and two team members took testimony on a killing by U.S. soldiers at a checkpoint

January 8

The delegation visited Baghdad Police Headquarters. While they were there, security guards discovered eleven rockets targeting that complex.

January 10 The delegation and four team members, along with staff at the Al Wathba Water Treatment Plant, participated in a memorial service for George Weber, a [Christian Peacemakers Team (CPT) member] who died in an auto accident in Iraq one year ago.

January 18

A very large explosion shook the apartment at 8 a.m. The front entrance to the Coalition Provisional Authorities was the target. More than twenty people died.

January 21 CPTers Loney and Perry attended an all-day meeting at Occupation Watch. Occupation Watch is trying to organize a demonstration involving families of detainees and families who are asking that Coalition Forces compensate them for confiscated property.

January 24 Several CPTers went to Abu Hanifa Mosque and heard a father tell the story of his son, who was arrested and detained at Abu Ghraib prison.

January 29

Gish and Loney met with Saad Khadhin Al Sandi, a conscientious objector from the Iraqi army during Saddam Hussein's dictatorship. The former regime had chopped off half of Saad's right ear, branding him as a social outcast. He now works for the National Association for Human Rights.

January 31

Wright, Loney, and Gish visited with Ali, a political cartoonist from the Association for the Defense of Human Rights. He will bring a detainee case for the Lenten campaign.

The CPTers rode back to the apartment in two GMC police cars, and talked with the Iraqi officers. The officers were trained by U.S. military. Their pay is $300/month, compared with $5/month under Saddam Hussein. They reported that now they can really do their job and serve the public even though it is dangerous for them.

February 6

Jim Loney visited a shelter for street children in Baghdad. At one point, the children 'arrested' Loney as a 'thief,' tied his hands, and led him away. The children displayed signs of trauma, including rapid shifts from very affectionate to aggressive behavior and back again. Loney was very impressed with the caring and professional Iraqi staff.

February 7 Gish, Loney, and Wright visited the Committee of People who Refused War and learned that a plastic surgery program for conscientious objectors to Iraqi military service (who had part or all of their ears removed as punishment) had been postponed.

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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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