The Koran story...
Not sure this has gotten much exposure, but for what it's worth.
Red Cross raised Koran disrespect concerns
Thu May 19, 2005 03:21 PM ET
By Saul Hudson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The International Red Cross told the Pentagon as early as 2002 detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison had reported U.S. officials mishandled the Koran, Red Cross and Pentagon officials said on Thursday.
The acknowledgment of the documentation of alleged abuse of the Koran came as Washington sought to defuse anger in the Muslim world after a U.S. news magazine reported the Muslim holy book was flushed down the toilet at the Guantanamo prison. The magazine later retracted the article.
The International Committee for the Red Cross told the Pentagon "multiple" times in 2002 and early 2003 that prisoners at Guantanamo said U.S. officials showed "disrespect" for the Muslim holy book, said Simon Schorno, an ICRC spokesman.
"The U.S. government took corrective measures and those allegations have not resurfaced," Schorno said.
The ICRC spokesman declined to specify if the allegations included the flushing of the Koran down the toilet or if U.S. officials used the disrespect as part of interrogations.
Former Guantanamo prisoners and lawyers for detainees have for months accused U.S. personnel at Guantanamo of putting the Koran into toilets. Pentagon officials said this week they did not consider such statements as credible allegations meriting investigation.
Bryan Whitman, a Pentagon spokesman, said the ICRC has come to the Pentagon "on rare occasion" with allegations made by detainees at Guantanamo. Whitman said ICRC representatives acknowledge they did not observe the actions that prompted the complaints.
"Out of respect to the ICRC and the relationship that we have, I'm not going to talk about the specific representations that they've made," Whitman said. "They are consistent with the type of things that we have talked about, what we have found in log entries (at Guantanamo), to include things like a Koran inadvertently falling to the floor."
RULES ON HANDLING OF KORAN
In January 2003, the U.S. military issued guidelines to personnel at the base outlining how to handle and inspect detainees' Korans.
The memorandum included the order: "Ensure that the Koran is not placed in offensive areas such as the floor, near the toilet or sink, near the feet or dirty/wet areas."
"The guidelines didn't come out of nowhere. You don't get such orders unless there's some problem, concern or controversy," a U.S. official, who asked not to be named, said.
Whitman said that "to the best of my knowledge" the concerns presented by the ICRC did not prompt the memo. "I am not aware of any specific precipitating event," Whitman said.
Muslims consider the Koran the literal word of God and treat each book with reverence.
The U.S. Southern Command, responsible for Guantanamo, Cuba, began a fact-finding inquiry last week in the aftermath of the Newsweek report into whether U.S. personnel at Guantanamo put the Koran in toilets. The Pentagon has said it has thus far found nothing to substantiate the allegation.
Anti-American sentiment has been strong in the Muslim world because of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and ensuing prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad.
The Newsweek report sparked violent protests in Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, and in Pakistan, Indonesia and Gaza.
The Pentagon said it currently holds about 520 non-U.S. citizens at Guantanamo, many there for nearly 3-1/2 years. Most were caught in the Afghanistan war.
(Additional reporting by Will Dunham)
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