Torture, American Style

Torture, American Style Publication #3 .0/Historians Against the War (HAW) Contents: Introduction: Margaret Power, Editor The American Prison and the Normalization of Torture: H. Bruce Franklin Nicaragua: A Tortured Nation: Richard Grossman The Tiger Cages of Con Son: Don Luce Guantanamo Prison: Jane Franklin Torture of Prisoners in U.S. Custody: Marjorie Cohn The Abu Ghraib Scandal and the U.S. Occupation of Iraq: John Cox Introduction By Margaret Power When pictures of Iraqi prisoners tortured and abused by u.s. troops appeared on televi sion screens and in newspapers across the country, many Americans recoiled in horror, disgust, and shock. How could members of the u.s. military carry out such heinous acts against the people we had supposedly come to liberate? Compounding this tragic irony is the fact that the Bush administration had repeatedly offered. Saddam Hussein's use of tor ture against the Iraqi people as one of the many pretexts presented by the U.S. govern ment to try and justify its invasion of Iraq. Many in this country, especially officials in how Washington's forced occupation of Cuban the Bush administration, would like us to believe territory a century ago has led to its logical con that the horrific acts of torture conducted in Abu clusion - a prison. Used first for Haitians and Cu Ghraib prison in Baghdad were an aberration, the bans and then for captives of the "War on Terror," atypical behavior of a few bad apples. Unfortu the U.S. military base has become a crucible for nately, this is not the case. As the articles in this torture exported to Afghanistan and Iraq. pamphlet show, the use of torture by the U.S. gov Marjorie Cohn's article, "Bush & Co.: War ernment and citizens has a long and sordid history Crimes and Cover-Up,,,2 asks why the torture story both in the United States and abroad. This pam has virtually disappeared from the media and phlet is not an exhaustive study of the use of tor much of the public consciousness. To answer this ture; it focuses specifically on cases of torture question, she examines the inner machinations of conducted by U.S. citizens furthering policies the Bush administration and the history of its dis sanctioned by the U.S. state. I cussions and directives on torture. Bruce Franklin's article, "The American John Cox's article, "The Abu Ghraib Scan Prison and the Normalization of Torture," shows dal and the U.S. Occupation of Iraq," accom how the American prison system developed into a plishes several critical goals. It succinctly summa central institution of U.S. society, one that has rizes the history of the scandal at Abu Ghraib and made torture routine and acceptable. The physi the investigations into it and discusses who is re cal, mental, and sexual abuse glimpsed at Abu sponsible for the abuses. Cox also makes the im Ghraib is part of the daily experience for two mil portant point that much of the U.S. media cover lion people caged in American prisons, while most age of the abuse has ignored the torture of women of the rest of the American public acquiesces or and children that took place at Abu Ghraib, the denies the reality of this torture. details of which are particularly horrible. Don Luce's essay, "The Tiger Cages of Con Probably the one area of the world where the Son," reveals again, as did his original testimony U.S. government has most engaged in the use of in the 1970s, the depths to which the U.S. gov torture is Latin America. Torture was integral to ernment sank in its ultimately futile efforts to de U.S. foreign policy in Latin America, as Richard feat the Vietnamese people. It imprisoned those Grossman's article, "Nicaragua: A Tortured Na Vietnamese it considered "the enemy" in tiger tion," illustrates. The infamous School of the cages, subjected them to physical abuses, deprived Americas trained key Latin American military of them of food and water, and, as if all that was not ficers and troops, some of whom ushered in the bad enough, poured lye on them to bum and scar brutal military dictatorships that presided over them. their countries from the 1960s to the 1990s.3 In Jane Franklin's "Guantinamo Prison" reveals addition, as Grossman points out, members of the 1 2. U.S. marine force that occupied Nicaragua in the being abused and members of his or her commu spec early 20th century did not just teach the Nicara nity who care about and feel connected to the vic 3. ' guan Guardia how to torture, they also engaged in tim of torture. It is a weapon used by those in don it themselves as part of their efforts to terrorize power to maintain themselves in power. Nicaraguans and defeat Augusto Cesar Sandino The explicit use of sexual abuse in Abu 4. thee and his anti-imperialist forces. Ghraib has horrified many people, perhaps more The U.S. government's sponsorship of torture than any of the other methods of torture employed. 5. Stat was not limited to the training of ~atin American Homophobia and the revulsion with which many Pre! militaries. As A. J. Langguth details in Hidden Americans and Iraqis view same-sex relationships Terrors, the U.S. government also worked directly clearly shaped the sexual tortures the U.S. military 6. 1 with police forces throughout the continent. His officials inflicted on their prisoners. U.S. Guards book discusses the work of Dan Mitrione, a police forced male Iraqi prisoners to masturbate, wear chief from Richmond, Indiana, who instructed the female underclothes, and perform fellatio on each Uruguayan police force in methods of torture in other.6 That particular method of torture was used the late 1960s.4 State of Siege by .Costas-Gavras to damage, perhaps obliterate, the tortured indi dramatically brings to the screen the story of Dan vidual's sense of self, his or her very identity. Mitrione, the anti-democratic methods of coercion Such practices undermine an individual's will to and repression he taught the Uruguayan police resist and weaken a community's ability to sur force, and his subsequent kidnapping and execu vive. And th~t was exactly the point. tion by the Tupamaros, the Uruguayan guerrilla The torture of Iraqis, like the abuse of the force. Uruguay was not an isolated example, as prisoners in Guantanamo and Vietnam, or the Martha Huggins shows in her expose of the U.S. slaves in the U.S. south was a logical, if immoral, government training of police forces in Latin extension of U.S. state policy. The U.S. govern By America, with a particular focus on Brazil.s ment invaded Iraq, as it had invaded Vietllam and In order to inflict pain on people, the torturer Afghanistan, and as slaveholders had enslaved Africans. Those who were and are the victims of needs to transform the tortured into the Other, in Thl most cases the enemy Other. During the Cold occupation--either of their nations or their bodies- War, the U.S. government convinced many people resisted, just as the Iraqis continue to resist. In ec( in this country and around the world that "com order to crush opposition, U.S. government po Ii pn munists," a blanket term applied to those who es cymakers and citizens alike employed torture in an CUI poused socialism as well as to people who op effort to destroy the spirit of resistance and make tes posed U.S. imperialist control of their nations the people's defeat seem inevitable. were the enemy. Today, the enemy Other is the We know there are many people in this coun da: terrorist, who is frequently conflated with the try who are appalled and disgusted by the use of reI Muslim or Arab Other. To be an Other means to torture. The courageous actions of Joseph Darby ou be a fanatic, to be impervious to "our" morality helped bring to light the abuse of prisoners at Abu At and values; in shoI:t, to be not only less than hu Ghraib, just as three decades before the efforts of man, but far from human, a living machine who is Don Luce and Tom Harkin helped to expose the ni! definitely not one of US (the definition of who US criminal treatment of Vietnamese prisoners at Con in is, is seldom clear). Since this person is not one of Son. We hope that all of you who read this pam fOJ us, and is, in fact, intent on destroying US, then phlet will condemn any and all forms of torture e~ WE can use whatever means are available to and raise your voice to oppose its use, any time AI counter this evil force. It is within this context and anywhere. de that torture is not only allowed, it is approved. to) Some believe that those who torture do so 10) simply to extract information from the captured NOTES sc enemy. This is not entirely true, as the examples 1. There are many other examples of U.S. government sti of Abu Ghraib, the tiger cages in Vietnam, and the torture whose story nee4s to be told. If you know of pr treatment of slaves and prisoners in this country other examples and/or would like to write about them, he show so clearly. Torture is used to degrade, hu please contact me, Margaret Power, at miliate, and destroy both the individual who is [email protected]. 2 2. Her article was originally printed in TruthoutiPer Margaret Power is an anti-war activist and Asso spective, September 20, 2004.

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