Browsed by
Tag: enhanced interrogation

turning the page on torture

turning the page on torture

Comments 0 Comment

It is sad that it has taken a change in administration to begin to turn the page on torture. A categorical ban on torture is an American value, not a debatable value of one party or another. Perhaps we were in so deep that there was no way out … other than repentance. And repentance doesn’t come easily to politicians.

But it is heartening to watch now as we do turn the page. I applaud the order passed down to all CIA interrogators directing them to comply with the guidelines of the Army Field Manual. And the decision to release the memos authorizing and defending the use of “enhanced interrogation techniques” is necessary and healthy if we want to clear the air and move on as a nation. Confession is the first step in repentance!

And it is confession because we must “own” together what we have done to “protect” ourselves, so we may be able to “disown” it now and move on. That’s what I see the Obama administration doing: not releasing the memos to bring shame down on the heads of Bush administration officials, but to bring shame down on all our collective heads for allowing and condoning torture. They are acting against not political rivals or even a rival ideology, but against torture itself.

That is why I can understand the decision not to prosecute officials of the previous administration. It’s not about exacting punishment or discrediting rivals, but about reversing course. It’s not about the swing of the conservative/liberal pendulum. We need to be free of the kind of thinking that allowed us to tolerate or excuse torture. And we need to embrace that commitment (once more) together.

Let’s move on, disown torture, and commit ourselves as a nation once more to an unwavering defense of basic and inalienable human rights … for all people!

A week ago, the bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee released their report on the Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody. Doug Muder has a very good summary and analysis of the report on his blog, The Weekly Sift. He reviews the findings of the report which refute “layer by layer” the common arguments used to defend the practices of the past eight years:

It’s not torture …

Even if it is torture, it’s not policy …

Even if it is a policy of torture, it’s legal …

Even if it’s illegal, it’s necessary …

Even if it’s illegal and unnecessary, it only hurts people who deserve it …

Even if it’s illegal, unnecessary, and hurts innocent people, it doesn’t hurt ordinary Americans …

Even if it’s illegal, unnecessary, hurts innocent people, and makes us all less safe, no one should be held accountable …

The article is worth reading in its entirety … if only to be sure we are well-enough informed that we will recognize the truth of what we have done as a nation and be ready to turn the page!

at our worst … and best

at our worst … and best

Comments 0 Comment

Three Iraqis and a Jordanian filed federal lawsuits Monday alleging they were tortured by U.S. defense contractors while detained at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

The lawsuits allege that those arrested and taken to the prison were subjected to forced nudity, electrical shocks, mock executions and other inhumane treatment. They seek unspecified payments high enough to compensate the detainees for their injuries, and to deter contractors from such conduct in the future.

“These innocent men were senselessly tortured by U.S. companies that profited from their misery,” said lead attorney Susan L. Burke, of the Philadelphia law firm Burke O’Neil. “These men came to U.S. courts because our laws, as they have for generations, allow their claims to be heard here.”

From an Associated Press article by David Dishneau, Abu Ghraib Inmates Sue Contractors, Claim Torture

Terrible things — truly terrible things — have been done in our name, “to protect the interests of the nation.” Terrible things have been done, with precious little accountability. Only media reports and opinion pieces — not really the courts and not really the congress — have held the practice of “enhanced interrogation” up to the light of day, but, even so, such reporting has sparked little outrage. Some of us deny it. Some of make excuses for it. And some of us just chalk it up to the cost of ensuring our security.

Personal and national security, whatever the cost, without regard for law or principle or love of neighbor: this shows us at our worst.

But now four individuals subjected to “enhanced interrogation” are suing. I applaud this opportunity to “try” the case, to bring the facts to light, to put the minds and hearts of the American people and the American justice system to the test. And as the lawyer for the plaintiffs suggests, this shows us at our best, capable of facing and redressing our own sins. The American system of governance is supposed to work that way, giving all access to justice, and allowing for self-correction as we learn from our mistakes.

May it be so in this case …