Army Private 'Ordered to Pose'

Wednesday, May 12, 2004

(10:26 AM ET) (14:26 GMT)

The Associated Press

Pfc. Lynndie England said her superiors praised the photos and "just told us, 'Hey, you're doing great, keep it up.'"

England: "I didn't really want to be in any pictures."

Image Credit: KCNC-TV & The Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, North Carolina -- AP
The U.S. Army private facing a court-martial for being photographed with naked Iraqi prisoners says she was following orders to create psychological pressure on them.

Pfc. Lynndie England told KCNC-TV in Denver on Tuesday that her superiors gave her specific instructions on how to pose for the photos. Asked who gave the orders, she would say only, "Persons in my chain of command."

In photographs that have been shown worldwide, England, 21, is seen smiling, cigarette in her mouth, as she leans forward and points at the genitals of a naked, hooded Iraqi. Another photo taken at Baghdad's Abu Ghraib prison shows her holding a leash that encircles the neck of a naked Iraqi man lying on his side.

"I was instructed by persons in higher rank to 'stand there, hold this leash, look at the camera,' and they took pictures for PsyOps (psychological operations)," she told the station.

"I didn't really, I mean, want to be in any pictures," she said. She also said she thought "it was kind of weird."

(More: CNN.com / U.S.)

2004 © The Associated Press.

Dan