An uninvited occupying army that treats prisoners as subhumans is never going to win the hearts and minds of the population.
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Iraq prisoner abuse 'was routine'
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The torture of prisoners in US custody in Iraq was authorised and routine even after the Abu Ghraib scandal came to light, a US-based rights group says.
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Soldiers' accounts show that detainees routinely faced severe beatings, sleep deprivation and other abuses for much of 2003-2005, Human Rights Watch says.
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Soldiers who tried to complain about the abuse were rebuffed or ignored.
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An interrogator at Camp Nama said the use of abuse techniques was commonplace - authorisation forms could be easily prepared for commanding officers to sign.
"I never saw a sheet that wasn't signed," the soldier said.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5206908.stm