A list of ‘reliably documented’ techniques
By on Jun 19th, 2006 at 11:57 am
A list of ‘reliably documented’ techniques
practiced at U.S. prisons in Guantanamo and Afghanistan, compiled by medical ethicist Stephen Miles: “Beating; punching with fists; use of truncheons; kicking; slamming against walls; stretching or suspension (to tear ligaments or muscles to cause asphyxia); external electric shocks; forcing prisoners to abase and to urinate on themselves; forced masturbation; forced renunciation of religion; false confessions or accusations; applying urine and feces to prisoners; making verbal threats to a prisoner and his family; denigration of a prisoner’s religion; force-feeding.” And it goes on.
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These are just the new labor laws for “right to work” states, you should see what they do to prisoners in Iraq.
June 19th, 2006 at 11:59 amI suppose the right will point out that decapitation is not on the list. After it is a bunch of terrorist animals and who cares right?
/sarcasm off
When we engage in these practices we become the enemy. I for one don’t won’t to see a return to medivel barbarism.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:00 pmAt least we don’t chop off peoples heads.
-The Decider
June 19th, 2006 at 12:01 pmmy wife uses most of these on me. FORCED MASTUBATION IS THE MOST FUN
June 19th, 2006 at 12:07 pmTo be fair and balanced we should point out that room and board is gratis compliments of Uncle Sam and the prisoners are residing in a tropical climate where the humidity works rejuvenating wonders on the pores and epidermis.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:07 pmThis, is what the Rightwing thinks of as moral and correct.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:08 pmall is fair in love and war
you know, sometimes you just have to beat people to get them to listen
you should see what goes on in the rest of the US prison system. two million people behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the entire world.
Waco, Ruby Ridge
freedom, democracy, liberty, all those famous catch words
it’s just all about killing and death
it’s good ‘business’
June 19th, 2006 at 12:09 pmOh my god, this is disgusting. “Reliably documented.” So this is what they ADMIT to? Horrifying.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:10 pmaaaaahhhhhh! finally a subject the fans of CLINTON can get into. good old fashion foreplay.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:11 pmimpeach BUSH. if you gotta force a guy in prison to masturbate then you aint being tough enough on him.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:14 pmMaybe Rumsfeld and the VP for Torture, Cheney would like to retire there.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:15 pmBill Clinton and George HW Bush are buddies these days. They go to fund raisers together to sucker people to give money for disaster relief. Tax slaves must pay for it all. The wars are at the top of the list that the tax slaves must fund. Government goons get the gravy. It’s the most corrupt government in the entire world, the good ol’ US gov.
It’s a farce from the gitgo.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:16 pmAs with all horrible atrocities this will come to light sooner or later and when some of these prisoners are released and their stories come out it will rock the conscience of the US. Or I should say “should”, cause at this point in time I have limited faith in my fellow citizens and their heart and soul.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:20 pmAgain… Bullies.
Only in the Bizzaro world of the Neo-Cons is torture a good thing. How can any decent human being reconcile this kind of abuse with being an American. Every single one of us should be ashamed and angry.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:29 pmForced masterbation? Who the hell sent perverts to GITMO to be prisoner guards? Wow that list makes me ill!
June 19th, 2006 at 12:32 pmMasturbation and prison guards > what a combo?
June 19th, 2006 at 12:35 pmAre there any Neocon trolls out there going to defend this behavior?
Come on! Show us your true colors here. Defend torture for us.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:37 pmHey I am into compromise. We will let the right do its thing with war and torture, if they let us do our thing with abortion. Fair enough? We all get to express our power and control issues in our own way. OK deal.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:38 pmAlright, I don’t quite get the forced masterbation thing. Is it “going through the motions” forced or what? I don’t know how a person could successfully masterbate in those conditions. I’d be like, “could you guys leave me to some privacy here, and do you have some porn?”
June 19th, 2006 at 12:40 pmWho would Jesus torture?
June 19th, 2006 at 12:45 pmPost 19 > I think it means the guards tell the prisoner to yank himself as they watch and make jokes or giggle > way for the guards to pleasure themselves I think?! Makes me ill thinking about it actually!
June 19th, 2006 at 12:45 pmOne of the sure ways to set off the neo-cons is to any similarity between Nazi Germany with Bushco America. I would suggest that maybe it is the truth that hurts. I will give Bushco one point: at least they are not pinpointing the Jews, yet.
For the latest in Bush Bashing Click on Clyde!
June 19th, 2006 at 12:48 pmCome on, they are served delcious rice pilaf. What more could you want from a gulag?
-GSD
June 19th, 2006 at 12:50 pmPlease make that “to suggest any” in #22.
June 19th, 2006 at 12:50 pmThe Guantánamo Peril
Aziz Huq
June 19, 2006
Aziz Huq heads the Liberty and National Security Project of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
Death is typically a moment of truth. But the occasion of three suicides at the Guantánamo Bay—where almost 500 men and boys have been held without trial for up to four years now—have only proved how poorly the Administration grasps the facts of today’s terrorism challenge. And it only showed how deeply ineffectual and counterproductive U.S. counter-terrorism policy becomes when based on flawed assumptions.
The U.S. response revealed how little it has learned since it first launched its “global war on terror†five years ago. The camp’s commander Rear Admiral Harry B. Harris described the detainees’ decision as “an act of asymmetrical warfare.†The Deputy Assistant of State Colleen Graffy classed the deaths as “a good PR move.†And Southcom commander General Bantz J. Craddock commented that, “This may be an attempt to influence the judicial proceedings†of a case now pending before the U.S. Supreme Court about the President’s ad hoc military commissions.
Here are the facts: Ali Adbullah Ahmed; Mani Shaman Turki al-Habardi al-Utaybi; Yasser Talal al Zahrani were three men that were alive two weeks ago in the “care†of the administration and now are dead. Ahmed had a lawyer. No one told him. Al-Utaybi was slated for transfer out of Guantánamo. No one told him. Harris, Craddock, and Graffy just could not see how the possibility of detention without family, without end, without hope, saps the will to live. They could not see how this very kind of detention is itself a blight on humanity. And they could not see how people around the world would recoil in disgust at their thoughtless and cruel incapacity to see such elementary moral facts.
The comments of the Bush administration officials are, in one respect, difficult to explain since their wholly predictably consequence was to trigger repugnance across the globe. European newspapers of the left and right roundly condemned their abysmal insensitivity.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:37 pmTorture doesn’t work
The subtitle of the recently published Human Rights Watch volume of essays on Torture asks “Does it make us safer? Is it ever OK?” Michael Ignatieff’s essay for that volume, excerpted in April’s Prospect, seems to answer those questions with, respectively, a “yes, probably†and an “in the circumstances, many might think so.â€
Ignatieff personally rejects torture as a solution. None the less, he opens the door for those with fewer scruples, arguing that “moral prohibition comes at a price†and that those of us who oppose torture should “also be honest enough to admit that we may have a price to pay for our own convictions.†The practical implications of this reasoning mean that his argument deserves a considered response.
Clearly, torture may sometimes persuade people to reveal information they would not otherwise have divulged. But that does not mean that permitting torture might keep us safe.
Ignatieff argues that an absolute ban on torture might prevent our intelligence services from gaining “timely access to information that may save lives.†The “ticking-bomb†scenario, as it is usually known, can seem persuasive. If someone knows of a vast bomb primed to explode in the heart of central London, how could one not torture him, to save thousands of lives? Exposed to reality, however, the hypothetical is no longer so neat. It has damaging consequences for individuals and societies alike.
It is partly a question of the accuracy of statements made under torture. Take the case of the Peruvian student Magdalena Monteza, abducted as an alleged subversive. After being tortured and repeatedly raped by her captors, she admitted to being part of a revolutionary cell. In the film State of Fear, she describes her story: “I’d never had sex before. I was a virgin, 19 years old… I couldn’t take the torture so I decided to sign. I confessed to things I never did… If they had sentenced me to death I wouldn’t have cared.†The Canadian-Briton Bill Sampson was repeatedly tortured in a Saudi jail. Under torture, he admitted to being part of a network responsible for bombings and murder, thus enabling the authorities to pretend that there is no homegrown terrorism in Saudi Arabia.
In the lead-up to the Iraq war in 2003, Colin Powell told a “first-hand†story of how Saddam Hussein supported biological and chemical weapons training for al Qaeda. The story, gained from an al Qaeda operative tortured in Egypt, later proved to be untrue. One CIA source was quoted: “This is the problem with using the waterboard [being held under water until you think you will die, known to the Latin American military as the submarino]. They get so desperate that they begin telling you what they think you want to hear.â€
Moral and practical arguments are inextricably intertwined. If some torture is justifiable in pursuit of the greater good, why not all torture? If the suspected terrorist is too hard a nut to crack, why not torture the man’s wife or daughter? Is that not an acceptable price to pay to save lives?
The simple answer is no. Torture degrades the torturer and those who condone it; acceptance of torture undermines the very foundations—and thus the security—of our society. Rules do matter, even if some of our politicians seem reluctant to confront that truth. Iraq today is a country full of ticking bombs. On the face of it, this would seem to be an obvious case where more torture could help keep everyone safer. If you torture hundreds or thousands of alleged radicals, one might confess where or when the next bomb will be placed. In reality, the shameful use of torture has only helped plunge Iraq into ever deeper instability.
The US administration has not been shy about its abandonment of the rules, based partly on a version of Ignatieff’s argument that “moral prohibition comes at a price.†Cofer Black, CIA head of counter-terrorism, explained that, after 9/11, “the gloves came off.†Those who committed abuses at Abu Ghraib and elsewhere acted as if moral scruples were trumped by what Ignatieff calls “accurate security information, even if collected by dubious means.†In reality, the trampling of the rules has merely encouraged those who believe that mass murder of civilians can be justified, and may have helped give the terrorists fresh recruits. Popular co-operation and tips to the authorities, which security experts agree can play a crucial role in cracking a secretive conspiracy, are, by contrast, more difficult than ever.
The US army intelligence manual is clear: “The use of force is a poor technique, as it yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear.†This military common sense has been abandoned in the past few years in favour of the brutal, politically driven shortcut. Alberto Mora, until recently general counsel of the US Navy, argues: “Getting the information became the overriding objective. But there was a failure to look more broadly at the ramifications… When you put together the pieces, it’s all so sad.â€
The British government has in past years played a key role in combating torture worldwide. And yet it refuses today to confront Washington’s policies, which endanger us all. At home, too, Britain has tried to dodge its commitments—by asserting the right to use torture evidence in court proceedings (only a law lords’ ruling forced the government to climb down), by negotiating flimsy agreements for sending people back to countries where they may be tortured, and by seeking to reverse the impact of European court judgments which emphasise that the ban on sending people back to the risk of torture is absolute.
William Hague talks of the “loss of moral authority†which comes from tolerating torture. This loss of moral authority has important implications. Ask Bill Sampson, ask Magdalena Montaleza. Ignatieff is right to reject torture: “We cannot torture, because of who we are.†None the less, if we allow ourselves to be seduced by arguments that torture helps keep us safe, the prospects for the 21st century look bleak.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:39 pmBeating; punching with fists; use of truncheons; kicking; slamming against walls; stretching or suspension (to tear ligaments or muscles to cause asphyxia); external electric shocks; forcing prisoners to abase and to urinate on themselves; forced masturbation; forced renunciation of religion; false confessions or accusations; applying urine and feces to prisoners; making verbal threats to a prisoner and his family; denigration of a prisoner’s religion; force-feeding; induced hypothermia and exposure to extreme heat; dietary manipulation; use of sedatives; extreme sleep deprivation; mock executions; water immersion; “water-boarding”; obstruction of the prisoner’s airway; chest compression; thermal burning; rape; dog bites; sexual abuse; forcing a prisoner to watch the abuse or torture of a loved one.
These practices failed in one respect for well over 100 documented human beings. They died.
will be interesting to see if you support the waterboarding of the two missing marines
Imagine cling film rapped round your head and dipped in a bucket of water upside down on a board until you passout, But no water enters the lungs , finaly a doctor present in the room revives you and asks questions , you know nothing so you are ducked under water again and revived and again and revived then your heart explodes , NICE EH ? This is now legal for the world from gangsters wanting their cash back in France (as happened) to all American soldiers captured
lets hope the vid comes out soon then to all you mugs that support torture
June 19th, 2006 at 1:54 pmJay & For Truth,
The forced masturbation is more about denigrating their religion. Masturbation is considered a grievous sin under Islam and, therefore, forcing someone to do so is a heinous violation of said individuals rights.
Jay, you also said that this will all come out some day. Just because it isn’t being covered by our lapdog media doesn’t mean that the rest of the world (particularly the Arab world) doesn’t know about it because they do. We have released hundreds of men and boys from places like Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram that have gone home and reported being systematically and repeatedly tortured. This is something that our nation will be paying for for the next 50 – 100 years. As a veteran of this nation’s Armed Forces, this makes my blood boil and makes me physically ill. That we, as a nation, could condone these actions through our inaction is appalling and attrocious. If you, or anyone else, is interested in doing something about this, check out the website below and donate, volunteer, or write letters on their behalf. Torture is UNAMERICAN and we need to reinforce that idea with the civilian military leadership in this country and our elected representatives (ha! Like they actually represent us). The organization is :
Veterans For America (Formerly Veterans for Common Sense)
June 19th, 2006 at 1:57 pmAmerica: Land of the free.
June 19th, 2006 at 1:59 pmRon: “It’s a farce from the gitgo. ” – - As well as the Gitmo.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:23 pmPost 28 > thanks for the information > I will check it out!
June 19th, 2006 at 2:34 pmAnd what will our defense be if we learn that our kidnapped soldiers are subjected to the same treatment we give our prisoners?
June 19th, 2006 at 2:36 pmOutrage? Will the world stand behind us?
If, indeed, our soldiers are kidnapped and if we later learn they are tortured, their blood will be on the hands of Bush&Co, one and all, and the Army should be the first to say so.
The Geneva Convention isn’t there to protect our prisoners, it’s there to protect us when we are prisoners.
To abandon it is to abandon POW’s.
June 19th, 2006 at 2:36 pmTo end this madness we must get off the internet and hit the streets. Join up and march like we did in the 60’s. Unite to take back our freedoms and our government…Join me, demand change now and prepair to revolt….Boot out all the bad politicians from left, right and center….Less time here, more time for marching….Stop the war and big business in their tracks.. See you on the front lines with picket signs.. For all the chubbies sitting here,, marching prevents the condition called round ass……Help your country and improve your figure and health..
June 19th, 2006 at 2:52 pmI am with you #34 brief viset but today, people are oblivious to what is happening around them. I have marched several times but the events are not covered much by the media – and the counter protestors are always given more voice, particularly because the newsman and his paper/network is not on our side either. We don’t have protest leaders like we did in the 60’s – we don’t have folk singers who can rally the nation – we don’t have organizations who can get the people out. When 100,000 descended on DC last September and the media barely covered it for the day, the writing was on the wall. They don’t care. Not the media. Not the people.
June 19th, 2006 at 3:46 pmNo one will care until their freedoms have been taken away to the point where they can’t protest any more, and it will be too late.
The US has been placed under a UPC label, we have been inventoried and sold.
The hate-mongers on Fox, the vile columnists who gain acess to TV interviews, the clueless who interview them, claiming to be balanced, while their owners are pulling their strings.
I agree we need a movement, we are out there waiting, but we need a strong voice to lead it.
You are also right #35…I agree with your post, no apparent leaders, lack of coverage on and on. Let’s look for some, join in with the ones in the fight and re inspire..Keep the fight and light burning.. Make your vehicles moving bill boards of anti bush war..Talk to you neighbors, contact the groups working and marching now..It’s time to get the momentum up and rolling…..Vote…..We did it then (60’s) we can do it again….This time we can do it better. It just takes more work…..
June 19th, 2006 at 4:18 pm#36, you brought a smile to my face with your comment about vehicles: My husband and I are travelling billboards for the anti-Bush, anti-war campaign. I often like to pass one of the dwindling number of “W04″ stickered cars, and let him read my rear end. Our townhome association doesn’t allow lawn signs, window signs, etc., so when our cars are in the garage, we leave the overhead door open for all passersby to read bumper stickers and larger signs on the garage walls.
June 19th, 2006 at 5:29 pmThe born-again tight-ass who lives next door has a big W sign in his garage. My garbage can goes to the curb once a week, with its own bumper sticker “You voted for George Bush? How embarrassing!”
Going to a local Democrats meeting tonight.
Good luck to you and to all of us, as we try to get our country back.
Good work #37…..I have an old truck and am filling up the bumper. One has been very good for tailgaters, the “I don’t break for right winged nut jobs” is right next to “I will hug you elephant if you will kiss my ass”……..I gave the “would some one please give bush a blow job so we can impeach him” to a neighbor…….Don’t see many flags on the antena or w stickers here any more…Don’t have to wonder why..It must be terribly embarising to continue backing a drunken fool who started an unnecessary war. Or maybe some of the brain dead public is realizing they voted in again a defunked oil man.
June 19th, 2006 at 6:04 pmmoderated by admin
June 20th, 2006 at 12:10 amWho would jesus shit on and force to masturbate?
June 20th, 2006 at 1:26 am