Abuse of Iraqi Prisoners and U$ Prisons
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INSIDE: ‘Enemy combatants’ * Gender and the Iraq abuseMIM Notes story 302 • May * 15,Prisons 2004 • Page 1 MIM Notes May 15, 2004, Nº 302 The Official Newsletter of the Maoist Internationalist Movement (MIM) Free Abuse of Iraqi prisoners and U$ prisons MIM SCOOP: TORTURE OF NAKED PRISONERS AMERIKAN ORIGINATED IN TORTURE PENNSYLVANIA PRISON OF IRAQIS by MC17 & MC5 n May 5 President Bush told the EXPOSED world that the torture of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison by MC12 and MC206 Ois not typical Amerikan behavior. He said n the run up to the Amerikan invasion, the soldiers who carried out the torture in February 2003, President Bush “don’t represent America” and stated declared: “The first to benefit from a “This is a free country. We do not tolerate Ifree Iraq would be the Iraqi people this kind of abuses.” Bush made these themselves. Today they live in scarcity statement in an interview aired on Al- and fear under a dictator who has brought Arabiya, a station widely viewed by Arab them nothing but war and misery and peoples. He also did an interview on the torture.”(1) Today, they live in scarcity Amerikan Arabic propaganda station Al- and fear under a FOREIGN dictator who Hurra, stating, “What took place in that has brought them nothing but war and prison does not represent the America misery, and—we can now confirm— that I know.”(1) NAKED HUMILIATION: The Amerikan torture tactic on display in Iraq (above) -- and following the torture. But what took place at Abu Ghraib does Despite valiant efforts by quick-acting represent Amerika. It is happening daily supression of the Attica prison uprising in New York in 1971, when prisoners were paraded around naked politicians and media apologists, it has not in prisons across the country, the country been possible to make the torture that has the highest imprisonment rate in in the mud (below right) and forced to lie prone for hours (above right). practiced by the Amerikan military in the the world. These statements by President Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq out to be the Bush are exposed as nothing more than work of a few lone, “sick” individuals. public image cleanup when we look at The story broke when the CBS news the conditions in Amerikan prisons. Imperialists spell relief: D-R-A-F-T program 60 Minutes released photos of Two of the first seven soldiers caught U$ soldiers gloating over naked and torturing Iraqis in Abu Ghraib prison Amerikan occupation U$ “force structure” in Iraq is an hooded Iraqi prisoners. However, the worked as U.$. prison guards before keeps looking to the accomplishment of the Iraqi proletariat most detailed description (to date) of going to Iraq. Staff Sgt. Ivan Frederick and oppressed launching armed struggle, torture, abuse and humiliation at the hands learned how to torture prisoners at future for relief without so much as the benefit of a Maoist of Amerikan soldiers, contractors and Buckingham Correctional Center in by MC5 and MC17 vanguard party (as far as we know). intelligence agents comes from a U$ Dillwyn Virginia, after working there six May 4—Amerikan Pentagon officials Since the time we have written articles army report on Abu Ghraib, which was years.(2) MIM Notes reported limitations announced recently their plan to keep on the draft, “Secretary of Defense” and leaked to the New Yorker magazine.(2) of prison visitation and thefts of prisoner Amerikan troops in Iraq at the current nutcase Donald Rumsfeld has reiterated The report details how soldiers property in Buckingham in 1997. level (about 135,000) through at least the opposition to the draft and said that he humiliated some of the prisoners by However, Virginia has imposed end of 2005.(1) Originally the United will find a way to rotate the 1.4 million forcing them to simulate sex acts. A photo censorship on MIM before and we do $tates had claimed it wanted to reduce people in the Amerikan military to find included in the report shows an Amerikan not have as many details about prison Amerikan occupation forces by 20,000. 135,000 soldiers for combat in Iraq.(2) womyn “giving a jaunty thumbs-up sign conditions as we would like. Again, it’s Uncle $am believed the transition to a Many of the 1.4 million are office and and pointing at the genitals of a young the same old story of cover-up. pseudo-autonomous Iraqi government on technical back-up personnel. Iraqi, who is naked except for a sandbag Charles Graner, another of the seven June 30th, 2004 would allow this. MIM reiterates that Rumsfeld (or a like- over his head, as he masturbates.” One caught torturing Iraqis worked in the Amerikan troops are needed to keep minded successor) might be able to pull soldier testifies, “I saw two naked Continued on page 4... the Iraqi population from rising up and that off. The United $tates is not in detainees, one masturbating to another You are not on a mailing list. You will not receive this paper again unless you take action. taking back their England’s position yet,(5) which is why kneeling with its [sic] mouth open.” country. And this will be a protracted war against U$ Although this soldier claims he refused MIM PRESORTED STANDARD Amerika is imperialism best handled by pan-Arab to participate in the abuse—”I just didn’t PO Box 29670 U.S. POSTAGE PAID willing to use nationalism and proletarian want to be part of anything that looked Los Angeles, CA 90029 PERMIT #56365 whatever force internationalism over a long haul. We must criminal”—he repeatedly refers to Iraqis Return Service Requested BOSTON, MA is necessary to steer away from seeing U$ imperialism as “it” and did little to stop the abuse (he achieve as about to fall, but also we must fully told his superiors, then assumed “the issue domination of credit the damage already done by the was taken care of”).(2) Iraq. Iraqi fighters fighting consciously and The army report makes it clear that the The increased Continued on page 7... Continued on page 6... On the web: www.etext.org/Politics/MIM MIM Notes 302 • May 15, 2004 • Page 2 Letters Amerikan workers both bought-off and exploited? I was reading your revolutionary cannot produce surplus value. They are definitions page. Let me start off by “necessary” only because the capitalists saying thank you for making the need guards, advertising experts, ‘Hey, it’s not as easy as it looks... definitions easy to understand without salespeople and lawyers to keep making “talking down” to readers. However, I profits. As J Sakai points out in “Settlers: have one question, or perhaps reservation, the Mythology of the White Proletariat,” considering your definition of a labor already in the 1970s around a third of aristocracy. While I agree completely that Amerikan workers were police, prison workers in the United States benefit from guards, or employed by the military. imperialist exploitation abroad, and The key to understanding unproductive unfortunately this corrupts their sector workers via surplus-value is that consciousness, I have a question they can only preserve or appropriate it; regarding the statement that they are they cannot expand it. Without therefore no longer exploited. Isn’t a salespeople, capitalists can certainly blow portion of the surplus value of their labor their chance at obtaining surplus-value, still exploited by capitalists in the United but no matter how good or how many States? In other words, aren’t they still salespeople one employs, there is a limit exploited even though they benefit from to the price of a good. Without the imperialist exploitation, even if this commodities produced by the productive exploitation is to a lesser degree than the sector, the sales staff have nothing, even exploitation experienced in the third in the most elementary conditions. If world. Perhaps it is the contradiciton of everyone were a guard, soldier or lawyer, US workers being both an exploiter and everyone would die of starvation and exploited? Just a thought. I look forward exposure. Life without any guards, --MC12 to your response. soldiers or lawyers, however, is certainly —An internet reader possible. the majority of Amerikans is (and sees bribery helps secure the imperialists’ MIM responds: There’s one quick According to the definitions used by the itself as) “middle class.” interests in the “home country.” Any answer to the question of whether COMINTERN, the majority of For those Amerikan workers in Amerikan workers who are truly exploited Amerikan “workers” are still exploited, imperialist-country “workers” are at best productive sector jobs, we have are so few and isolated so as to not even though they do receive a part of the “semi-proletarian.” COMINTERN extensively documented that the amount constitute a class. surplus value the imperialists rob from the documents clearly consider the “urban of surplus value transferred to them from We recommend those interested in Third World: the majority of Amerikan petty bourgeoisie and broad layers of the the exploited Third World exceeds the these questions read MIM Theory 1, “A “workers” are in non-productive jobs. so-called middle class, of office workers value of their labor. Of course, on the White Proletariat?” J Sakai’s “Settlers,” They do not produce anything and hence etc.” to be non-proletarians. Of course, whole the capitalists must pay workers and our “Imperialism and its class less than the value of their product—but structure, 1997,” wich is available free Editor, MC206; Production, MC12 they can afford to bribe a small minority online: http://www.etext.org/Politics/ of workers, and, as Lenin’s Imperialism MIM/mt/imp97/index.html.