Fight Wars

University of Cincinnati students were given an opportunity to hear first-hand accounts of abuses carried out by U.S. forces in Iraq during Truth, Lies and Torture: Stories from Iraq. The event took place Jan. 24 in the Great Hall of Tangeman University Center.

Three speakers protesting the Iraq war, Fedaa Jasim, an Iraqi-American, Aidan Delgado, an Iraq War veteran and Marty Webster, national coordinator of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, shared stories of abuse and voiced their opinions of the current situation in Iraq.

Jasim, a fourth-year pharmacy student, shared her story about visiting Iraq for the first time during her winter break in 2003.

"Yes, it was during the war and yes, it was risky," Jasim said. "But we took the decision to go see the family for fear that the situation could deteriorate further."

According to Jasim, six of her relatives were innocently imprisoned in Abu Ghraib prison.

"[My 64-year-old uncle Ibrahim,] was left standing naked in the freezing winter nights of Baghdad, after being sprayed for hours with freezing cold water," Jasim said. "He passed away on his son's lap in prison after a long night of torture for an accusation someone his age can never be guilty of."

An International Committee of the Red Cross report released in 2004 corroborated Jasim's claims of International Humanitarian Laws violations.

According to the report, Coalition Forces used "excessive and disproportionate use of force against persons deprived of their liberty resulting in death or injury during their period of internment."

Between 70 and 90 percent of people detained were arrested by mistake, according to the ICRC report, which was based on investigations in Iraq from March to November 2003.

"The goal of this talk today was not for me to talk about my personal family pains but to relate to you that this pain and agony is shared across the board," Jasim said.

Aidan Delgado, honorably discharged from the U.S. Army as a conscientious objector, shared his story of time spent in Iraq as a soldier.

"The war had a corrupting effect on me and the members in my unit," Delgado said.

Delgado witnessed Abu Ghraib detainees being abused.

In one instance, prisoners were chanting and demonstrating against the living conditions within the camps. The guards panicked and opened fire with rubber bullets immediately killing three prisoners, Delgado said.

The prisoners were living in utter squalor and filth, with freezing conditions and not enough clothes or blankets. The sick and dying prisoners were served "decaying food infested with maggots," Delgado said.

"If only Americans could see, they would never tolerate this," Delgado said.

Delgado projected pictures ranging from lone limbs to his sergeant holding a skull to get his message across.

"I felt the fighting spirit bleed out of me," Delgado said. "[I remember thinking] we're exactly the same."

Abuse was not the only thing Delgado highlighted.

"There are also many things to be proud of, we gave supplies and rations to the Iraqis and there was charity within the units," Delgado said.

Delgado, Jasim and Webster all agree the situation in Iraq is not being portrayed in full scope.

"I think Iraqi citizens are underrepresented in the media," Jasim said. "The truth and gruesome effects of the war are hidden. You see only what they want you to see.

"I do not want the view that I am not patriotic, I'm just spreading the truth and spreading the truth is patriotic to me," Jasim said.

The event was co-hosted by the Campus Antiwar Network, Campus Greens, Peace Village and the Internationalist Socialist Organization.