US Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques

Editor & Publisher

One of the first women to die in Iraq shot and killed herself after objecting to harsh "interrogation techniques."

She was Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Az., native serving with C Company, 311th Military Intelligence BN, 101st Airborne. Peterson was an Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison at our air base in troubled Tal-Afar in northwestern Iraq. According to official records, she died on Sept. 15, 2003, from a "non-hostile weapons discharge."

But in this case, a longtime radio and newspaper reporter named Kevin Elston, unsatisfied with the public story, decided to probe deeper in 2005, "just on a hunch," he told E&P today. He made "hundreds of phone calls" to the military and couldn't get anywhere, so he filed a Freedom of Information Act request. When the documents of the official investigation of her death arrived, they contained bombshell revelations. Here’s what the Flagstaff public radio station, KNAU, where Elston now works, reported yesterday:

"Peterson objected to the interrogation techniques used on prisoners. She refused to participate after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage. Army spokespersons for her unit have refused to describe the interrogation techniques Alyssa objected to. They say all records of those techniques have now been destroyed...."

The Army talked to some of Peterson's colleagues. Asked to summarize their comments, Elston told E&P: "The reactions to the suicide were that she was having a difficult time separating her personal feelings from her professional duties. That was the consistent point in the testimonies, that she objected to the interrogation techniques, without describing what those techniques were."

Well to be very Honest, I find this story a bit fishy;

She was Arabic-speaking interrogator assigned to the prison;

She probably saw MANY interrogations and the techniques being used there;

She objected to there harsh "interrogation techniques" and refused to work there after only two nights working in the unit known as the cage.

She then commits Suicide.

And all the records about this techniqes have now been destroyed.

Suicide?

Sorry - I just don't buy it...

Why do you think this story is fishy? I'm not sure what you are implying, I actually found this story heart-breaking and had a little cry. Are you asserting that it has been 'placed' and is from the 'anti-war' movement. Can you please elaborate on your motivations?

deessell,
i think souljah was saying that she did not commit suicide.
Maybe she was killed for refusing to torture people,or she said she would tell the bosses.

This does not make any sence and it does seem fishey. Why would she kill herself after 2 days? I am thinking there is other things going on with her or somehow their is more to the story. They do not just bring a new person in to the interogation world until they know they are stable.

Hi First post here. It seems she knew too much and wanted to inform humanitarian
authorities. She then either killed herself or was murdered.

Good find.

I think deessell is an agent that tried to "deessellerate" your argument.

I agree with you Scottish one,[welcome to the ATS family BTW ]

Factfinder,what does "stable" mean?
Reason i ask is,i reckon most people could be trained to perform a robust non torturous
interregation,but i find it difficult to accept most people can be trained to torture.
For this you need a special breed,as history shows us.
Many a moralistic person would refuse to perform some of the techniques we read about in the news,Abu Grahib,Guantanamo,secret european CIA detention centers...etc.

I wonder what foul "pressure" techniques were so hideous that all of their records were destroyed.

Something other than what we know already i think.Something worse,if that is possible.

You find this story fishy since she spoke arabic period. Keep on hating dude!


That was uncalled for, please read the following link:

Mod Note: Political Baiting and Sniping on ATS – Please Review Link.



[edit on 3-11-2006 by mrwupy]

Originally posted by OctopusDr
I think deessell is an agent that tried to "deessellerate" your argument.

err, what is that little comment about. I asked a genuine question.


I also found this comment from her father (which is telling).

“I am going to tell you for a fact. We looked at her body and we saw some things,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to say too much right now, but I am going to say this: I think that the investigation is a criminal investigation, and I think that there is foul play.”

www.frostillustrated.com...

It does seems a little strange. Why kill yourself after being transferred out of the position?

Originally posted by deessell
I also found this comment from her father (which is telling).

deessell Dude;

I think you are mistaken Sir - your link shows a different Female Soldier:

Private LaVena Johnson, 19, of Florissant, Mo

And the Story I posted, is about Another Female Soldier:

Army specialist Alyssa Peterson, 27, a Flagstaff, Az

But it's gets worse:

Obviously the father of Private LaVena Johnson also thinks there is something fishy about the story of his daughter commiting suicide.

Female Soldiers commiting Suicides in Iraq, surrounded with Suspecious circumstances?

[edit on 2/11/06 by Souljah]

Originally posted by sbob
You find this story fishy since she spoke arabic period. Keep on hating dude!

I cant, for the life of me, figure out why it's so hard for others to read and take into context what a poster is attempting to say without automatically jumping to all the wrong conclusions and assertions about their character.

Souljah was saying that the OFFICIAL story of her comitting suicide sounds fishy. Which has nothing to do with the fact that she spoke Arabic.

I too, find it extremely disheartening and VERY fishy...even at the worst case scenario, 2 days exposure for a seasoned officer (use to seeing death and hardcore situations) would NOT be traumatic enough to send someone over the suicidal edge IMO.

Dont be surprised to find out in the near future that all sorts of Psychoanalyst and Doctor records show up discrediting her character and leaving us all to believe that she was borderline: 1) psychotic 2) suicidal 3) manic 4) potentiall all of the above.


AB1

Thanks deesell,
My mistake.



[edit on 2-11-2006 by Silcone Synapse]

Originally posted by Silcone Synapse

Originally posted by deessell

“I am going to tell you for a fact. We looked at her body and we saw some things,” Johnson said. “I don’t want to say too much right now, but I am going to say this: I think that the investigation is a criminal investigation, and I think that there is foul play.”

www.frostillustrated.com...< br />

Well found there Deessell.
As i thought.How horrible.
This girl is a war hero in my opinion.Forever.
She stands for the values of us all.

I bet many of her comrades feel the same way.
To torture is not the job of an honourable solider.

Actually, as Souljah has pointed out -- this is a different female soldier. My mistake.

From personal experience.

Military Int people are very, very robust people.

Their training and techniques are awesome to behold, and if the beast are unleashed and given a free run, they will reduce you to tears in hours, not days / weeks as people think.

I've been on the wrong end of a 24 hr interrorgation - and it was the worst 24 hrs of my life, and that was in training, and she was smart, hard, and very very vicious.

Now, for a trained Int person to crack after a couple of sessions because it was too much, well, it was either A) Well beyond describable, or B) She was killed to keep her silent because she heard some thing she was not supposed to.

I'm going with B. Int people do not commit suicide over a blooming interrorgation.

why commit suicide when all you have to do is use the chain of command and get relocated to a different task? that's too bad.

Apparently, she did commit suicide.

Either by putting a gun to her head, or by opening her mouth.

Either way, the result was the same.

Originally posted by D4rk Kn1ght
Now, for a trained Int person to crack after a couple of sessions because it was too much, well, it was either A) Well beyond describable, or B) She was killed to keep her silent because she heard some thing she was not supposed to.

Well, the points you took out are pretty close to what I'm thinking;

But what she did depends on her personality - because Army can break people down and make them kill themselves; especially Female soldiers, living in a Man's world during wartime.

So what kind of Person was she like?

From Original Article:

Peterson, a devout Mormon, had graduated from Flagstaff High School and earned a psychology degree from Northern Arizona University on a military scholarship. She was trained in interrogation techniques at Fort Huachuca in Arizona, and was sent to the Middle East in 2003.

"I met Alyssa only once during a weekend surfing trip while she was at DLI. Although our encounter was brief, she made a lasting impression. We did not know each other well, but I was blown away by her genuine, sincere, sweet nature. I don’t know how else to put it-- she was just nice. ... I was devastated to here of her death. I couldn’t understand why it had to happen to such a wonderful person.”

So - first a devouted Mormon.

Graduated from PSychology.

Genuine, Sincere and Sweet by Nature.

A Wonderful Person.

But in a completly WRONG place.

And time.

So - you think that this kind of person is able to commit suicide?

I'm going with B. Int people do not commit suicide over a blooming interrorgation.

I'm going there with You.

[edit on 2/11/06 by Souljah]

Also, why is this story in the news now. This happened in 2003. I also found this, which was written by someone who worked with her.

One is Spec. 4 Alyssa Peterson, a military intelligence soldier like me, and a former Mormon missionary who, I have reason to believe, acted with high conscience and suffered for it (as she probably knew she would). Spec. Peterson was involved in the Army's Iraq incarceration/interrogation apparatus in September, 2003. You'll recall that this is when Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller came from Guantanamo Bay to "Gitmoize" things in Iraq, where the Bush administration wanted to put the screws to the prisoners to crack the then-nascent Iraqi Resistance.

Apparently, Spec. Peterson resisted the orders to brutalize, humiliate and torture incarceration/interrogation apparatus inmates. That's what I infer from the official report, parrotted by the media (of course), which is that this fine soldier died of a "non-combat weapons discharge" to the head. This story has been gently pushed up to a "suicide" story since. Her family believes it was simple assassination, and they contacted me in 2004 because of my connection with the David Kelly assassination (and investigation). Have a look for her case for yourself:

source


The plot thickens.

Originally posted by deessell
Also, why is this story in the news now. This happened in 2003. I also found this, which was written by someone who worked with her.

One is Spec. 4 Alyssa Peterson, a military intelligence soldier like me, and a former Mormon missionary who, I have reason to believe, acted with high conscience and suffered for it (as she probably knew she would). Spec. Peterson was involved in the Army's Iraq incarceration/interrogation apparatus in September, 2003. You'll recall that this is when Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller came from Guantanamo Bay to "Gitmoize" things in Iraq, where the Bush administration wanted to put the screws to the prisoners to crack the then-nascent Iraqi Resistance.

Apparently, Spec. Peterson resisted the orders to brutalize, humiliate and torture incarceration/interrogation apparatus inmates. That's what I infer from the official report, parrotted by the media (of course), which is that this fine soldier died of a "non-combat weapons discharge" to the head. This story has been gently pushed up to a "suicide" story since. Her family believes it was simple assassination, and they contacted me in 2004 because of my connection with the David Kelly assassination (and investigation). Have a look for her case for yourself:

source


The plot thickens.

Excellent Find my Friend!

Goes very well with my previous post, describing Specialist Peterson.

A Genuine, Sincere and Sweet by Nature Person says to to brutalizing, humiliating and torturing incarceration/interrogation apparatus inmates.

And her Family BELIVES that it was a simple Assassination!

So why should we buy the official Military story?