Controlled Torture: American style of Interrogation
A series of blows to Bush administration happened during the past week. In the last one, Washington Post and Guardian reported that CIA destroyed videotapes showing use of harsh interrogation techniques, including Waterboarding (simulating drowning), against Al-Qaida suspects. Here is the beginning and the end of Guardian’s article:
The CIA destroyed video evidence of the coercive interrogation of al-Qaida operatives held under its secret rendition programme in order to shield agents from prosecution, it was revealed yesterday. The decision to destroy two videotapes documenting the use of waterboarding against Abu Zubaydah and another high value al-Qaida detainee was made in November 2005 – as American media were just beginning to focus on the existence of the secret CIA prison network… The footage would have clarified what practices such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation – both of which a gravely wounded Abu Zubaydah was subjected to – involve.
Another daily calls it ‘Simulating drowning in a controlled environment’! I don’t know how exactly they practice it, but let’s assume that they use supercomputers to control the amount of water which enters the lungs of the accused person. Then, if the person dies due to a bug in the programs coded to control the process, that would be just an accident, yes?
Also, I think that ‘amputation in controlled environment’ is not much different from ‘simulating drowning’: “let’s cut some fingers, and then order professional medical stuff to repair it.” Whatever reason they suggest to justify Waterboarding, one might use that very reason to justify Controlled Amputation.
What about rape? Less painful and more productive.
UN should pass a resolution to set limits for being shameless, I believe.
Join the Conversation
Mohammad,
The reason the US torture methods such as waterboarding and sleep deprivation is that they leave no physical scar, only a psychological. A psychological scar can be contested in court, but a physical scar is real and can be medically linked to a time in the victim’s life, which can be used as evidence proving the torture did take place. That’s why the US uses these psychological techniques rather than physical ones like amputation.
This is an excellent and important post. Personally I think the US committed more crimes in this field than many other nations and the international courts still close their eyes and ears pretending to be unaware of what’s going on.
A common argument against this is that since they are “Al Qaida suspects,” they deserve such abuse, so it often goes justified.
But suspects mean they are not proven guilty. How do we know that innocent people aren’t going through this? How come they are not being publicly trialled? We are already aware that innocent people are stuck in Guantanamo Bay for no apparent reason at all, so how come the USA is so secretive about this?
What I want is some country [with guts] or some Organization to do exactly the same with some US Citizens or Spies captured [or just make it up tht they did it n spread the news LOL] what the US does at the Gitmo Bay n associated torture centers.. then watch the reaction of the US Public… It would be fascinating to see tht the perception of torture n what’s acceptable torture change like in a flash
and they keep saying tht the situation of jails in China n Pakistan are not acceptable and not according to the Geneva Conventions… [WTF?]
they arent unaware.. when some1 makes a fuss tht they are doing this US just bloody backs out of the agreement(s)
nd then when someother country backs out of some agreement [ like Pakistan or Iran ] they start yelling like its something tht dont do! :S
The idea that the videos were destroyed to protect the identities of the interrogators and because they were “no longer relevant” to inquiries seems just a little laughable.
Moazem Begg, author of Enemy Combatant, pointed out that he wasn’t charged even though he signed a ‘confession’.
I think there is a misunderstanding about US torture policy. It’s not that the US uses “harsh interrogation techniques” (=torture) only on enemy combatants. They do this to their own (black) citizens in US jails. First, the law will be biased against you (i.e., a 10X longer sentence for crack vs. cocaine). Then, the police are paid based on how many people they throw in jail (they actually have quotas they need to meet!). And if they want some info out of you they leave you in a cell alone with a big guy named bubba who will sexually violate you. Or they will put you in a cell with several members of a rival gang/group. All while they are denying you medical care and other basic rights. And the American public accepts this.
So, while I don’t think it’s ok to torture, I think it’s naive for foreign combatants captured by the US to expect better treatment than blacks recieve in US prisons. Remember, one of the main officers in charge of Abu Ghraib was a prison guard at home. He didn’t realize anything was wrong because similar things happen in US jails and no one says or does anything about it.