Reflections on the Prisoner Abuse Scandal in Abu Grihab
NOTE- What follows may be unsettling and disturbing reading, but it is also supposed to be enlightening
Have you been following the 'detainee abuse' issues? This is an issue which seemingly started in Guantanamo Bay, moved to Afghanistan and now to Iraq, in which the numbers of persons affected has risen from the hundreds to the thousands. I believe we should keep our eyes and ears opened to this, as if it indeed continues to grow, and if not only the scope but also the brazenness of it grows too, it could reach the point at which millions are systematically abused. The situation in Iraq seems to have been leaked to the press at a convenient time, when there was a withdrawal from the city of Fallujah. Attempts to control the city through solely military means floundered. Far from it being Saddam supporters doing the bulk of the fighting there, there is a slum area there full of militants (where even Saddam was scared to travel) that have a strong tribal code of resistance- something centuries old. If they really were Saddam supporters, why were they so poor as to live in slums- hardly the life of a party loyalist? So a distraction has been let out- abuse of prisoners. Perhaps the media is finally revealing their distaste for the whole thing and perhaps with Bush himself. Who really knows? Certainly, though, the issue has come to the fore.
From what investigations I have been able to conduct; it seems that the worst of it is not random, but rather systematic, and perhaps even premeditated long before the invasion. Seemingly, the same people who originally trained Saddam are responsible- the CIA and shadowy 'Military Intelligence', giving orders down the line to treat local people in a way that will deprive them of the most basic rights and dignities, and then commending those who obey said commands. I read most of the report by U.S. Maj. Gen. Antonio M. Taguba, authored months ago, investigating the situation in prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan. Much of it focuses on lapses in discipline and uses of excessive force, in which local military commanders and MPs were found to be at fault. But the issue of a structure and institution of, for lack of a better word, of torture, is a different matter.
The sophisticated and demoralizing techniques could only come from the experts, and some photos even show their special boots, when they came into the prisons and sectioned off areas to perform their own interrogations there. Following their orders was an excuse often used for the bizarre practices which Maj. Antonio Taguba unearthed. And when I here use the word demoralising, I mean precisely that, in that they are actions and methods by which people's moral fiber and restraints can be worn down, and they can be turned into less moral people.
Of course, they have been ordering people in Asia and South America to do this sort of thing for decades, throughout the cold war. Strategic necessity was often used as an excuse. Of course, I am here assuming that this is all premeditated and not random acts of ill-discipline, as reported in the mass-media. I feel justified in this as the means are so similar to what I read of in Amnesty International reports. Of course, ordinary Americans have nothing to do with this. I always feel though, that when the decency of ordinary Americans is brought up to defend America (as many Americans with whom I discuss these matters tend to do), it is a kind of smoke-screen for those elements with other ideas. It stifles criticism. Also, it deliberately ignores the issue of that minority who are not quite so decent, who may be corrupted.
Let's assume that it is true, that the majority of Americans are decent, moral, human beings. I am even willing to say that they are unusually so, and that America has been one of the freest and best countries (relatively speaking) in the history of the world. So in that case, if the CIA wanted an army of Americans with an ability to act with very little moral restraint, and even with a sadistic love of the amoral, they could well regard Iraq and Afghanistan as a suitable training ground. We are talking here of a small group of people- an atypical group. Before these wars started, Rumsfeld and others boasted in their various asides that they would be used as theatres in which to test new weapons systems. He may even have said, albeit more privately, that they would also be used to test new torture techniques, and whether sufficient quantities of Americans could be corrupted into employing them, on their fellow man and woman. It is a horrible thought. But in this world, horrible things have been known to happen, and it is just plain naivety to assert that they don't or that the necessarily won't.
You see, when they decided to get rid of Saddam they weren't so much saying they didn't approve of his methods- they had trained him to do these things. They were saying that they wanted to do them themselves. Perhaps not to quite the same extent, but nevertheless, to an extent. One key to understanding what is going on is that in the leaked pictures, the soldiers are shown to be enjoying and gloating in the humiliation of others. Mankind has always had sadistic (no pun intended) potential, and unchecked, it can cause tremendous suffering and corruption. If we are not careful, what is happening in Iraq will just be the beginning. What has been happening in developing countries for past decades could not only get worse, but could spread to developed countries to.
So what is the answer? Of course, it would be unfair of me to say all of this without suggesting one. Well, there has to be legal consequences for those finally responsible, right to the top. Currently they are doing this sort of thing because they feel safe from any sort of consequence, so the pleasure they get from it outweighs the pain they would get from fear of consequences. They cannot be allowed to hide behind a hypocritical stance of patriotism. Or else they will grow, and as they do so will their supporters, who in the less-informed sections think that they are supporting good and patriotic people, whilst in the higher places people hope that by pleasing them they will share in power and tax-breaks. They must be exposed, and by those with enough established power and influence to do so safely and effectively. Those who do the exposing rely on other supporters to do so, to show that their voices are representative. The peoples of the Earth must demonstrate a moral solidarity. It is not about sympathizing with rebellions. It is about insisting on human rights. Vocally. Financially. Peacefully.
Evil is real- all it needs for triumph is for good people to do nothing.
A thought for the day.
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