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CIA Recruited & Trained Secret Iraqi Paramilitary Group Ahead of War

HeadlineAug 03, 2005

The Washington Post has revealed that the CIA recruited and trained an Iraqi paramilitary group ahead of the U.S. invasion to conduct sabotage, and helped the CIA target buildings and individuals. The Iraqis were trained at two secret military bases in Jordan. The government’s codename for the group was the Scorpions. After the invasion, the secret Iraqi force helped the U.S. carry out interrogations. The Post reports that in one case in November 2003, members of the unit, wearing masks and carrying clubs and pipes, beat up an Iraqi general named Abed Hamed Mowhoush in the presence of CIA and military personnel. That general died in U.S. custody two days later after a U.S. interrogator and military guard stuffed him in a sleeping bag, wrapped him in an electrical cord and beat him. Hours after his death U.S. military officials issued a news release stating that the prisoner had died of natural causes after complaining of feeling sick. Army psy-ops officers then distributed leaflets designed to convince locals that the general had cooperated and outed key insurgents. But now two Army soldiers with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment in Fort Carson, Colorado have been charged with the killing and are currently on trial. Documents released as part of the court proceeding have given the public a rare look at how interrogations were carried out in Iraq.

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