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.
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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.