The Soldier Who Killed Herself After Refusing to Take Part in Torture

The blood on the hands of Bush, Cheney and so many others (including certain members of the media) in the Iraq war comes not just from soldiers and civilians killed in action but the many, many soldier suicides, in the war zone and back at home.   For years I wrote about them almost every week.  But one of the most most wrenching stories concerned Spc. Alyssa Peterson, 27.  She was one of the first female soldiers to die in that conflict.  It was an unusually tough loss for U.S. forces there, as she was one of the few Arabic-speaking interrogators. She had been killed by a bullet from a rifle.  A daily occurrence for U.S. soldiers in Iraq then, but in this case the rifle was her own.

She had committed suicide after refusing to take part in torture. Naturally, a cover-up followed.

I was the first national reporter to write about her case, after a local radio newsman uncovered it.  I've updated it since and wherever I write about it the articles draw wide readership and comments.  She was also featured in my new e-book on the war, So Wrong for So Long.  Here's my most recent piece, from The Nation two years ago.  And, unfortunately, the plague of suicides continues to run at records levels in Afghanistan and among war vets here at home.