After toppling Saddam Hussein’s government, the U.S. military set up Camp Nama at the Baghdad International Airport, and there a shadowy military unit called Task Force 6-26 interrogated Iraqis in the so-called “Black Room.” In the windowless, garage-size room, soldiers—most of whom were Special Ops personnel—beat prisoners with their rifles, yelled and spit in their faces and used detainees for target practice with paintball guns. On the walls of the black room were signs that read: “NO BLOOD, NO FOUL”—meaning that as long as soldiers didn’t draw blood from their captors, they weren’t at risk of getting into trouble.

 

According to accounts collected by Human Rights Watch, McChrystal visited Camp Nama several times. He also gave strict instructions to task force commanders not to let the International Red Cross visit the secret facility.

 

The New York Times has reported that Task Force 6-26 has had 34 troops punished for detainee abuse, with 11 members removed from the unit and five Army Rangers convicted for kicking and punching prisoners.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

 

"No Blood, No Foul" (Human Rights Watch)

In Secret Unit's 'Black Room,' a Grim Portrait of U.S. Abuse (by Eric Schmitt and Carolyn Marshall, New York Times)

Memorandum for Record – Report of Violations of The Geneva Conventions and the International Laws of Land Warfare (PDF)