female us soldier beating iraqi pows

U.S. soldier accused of beating Iraqi prisoners says, 'It is war'
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - One of four American MPs charged with beating prisoners
of war at a detention camp in Iraq said Tuesday: "We were doing our jobs.
... It is war. It is not back home where everybody is safe."
Shawna Edmondson, a 24-year-old Army reservist, accepted a demotion and a
discharge rather than face a court martial, and returned to her hometown in
northeastern Pennsylvania last week.

Three other members of Edmondson's Military Police unit refused to accept a
plea bargain and are on restricted duty in Kuwait. They could go to jail if
convicted of abuse and misconduct.

Fellow soldiers testified that the four Pennsylvania reservists punched and
kicked prisoners who were being brought to an American camp in southern Iraq
on May 12. One prisoner suffered a broken nose.

One soldier said that during the attack, a beaten prisoner was "screaming
for his life." Another testified that Edmondson told her that the attack was
to "teach the prisoner a lesson on how to treat women."

The reservists have said they were acting in self-defense.

Edmondson, a former student and security guard at the University of
Scranton, would not discuss the allegations in detail Tuesday, saying she
will probably be called back to Iraq to testify.

But, speaking by telephone from her parents' home in Clarks Summit, about
110 miles north of Philadelphia, she said conditions in the camp were
frightening and unsafe. Sometimes as few as 100 MPs were guarding 8,000
prisoners, she said.

"We were doing our jobs, and that's about all I can say. People don't
understand the conditions out there. It is war. It is not back home where
everybody is safe," Edmondson said. "Mistakes will be made. People are
dying. Our soldiers are dying every day. But they seem to want to be nicer
to the Iraqi POWs than our own people."

Edmondson said she will see if she can get her old job back at the
university. Her discharge, which came after a demotion from sergeant to
private, will probably bar her from pursuing her plan to become a police
officer.

Edmondson said she joined the reserves 4{ years ago with the intent of
getting training that would be useful in a career in law enforcement.

"I was naive. I never thought I'd have to go to war," she said.

She said she has gotten a warm reception in her hometown from family and
friends but has also encountered some coldness.

"There are some people who are not so proud," she said. "There are always
going to be mixed feelings and mixed emotions. Me, I'm just glad it's over."