Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Torture at Abu Ghraib
The photographs taken by the 372nd Military Police Company that shows detainees being tortured at Abu Ghraib are hard to look at. Male detainees were stripped naked, arranged in sexually explicit positions, and even forced to masturbate; all while being photographed or filmed. Many were beaten, waterboarded, and threatened with death. It is hard to believe that the United States could be responsible for such atrocities, but according to a Newsweek article titled The Debate Over Torture, it states that "The international Convention Against Torture, ratified by the United States in 1994, bans the "cruel, inhuman, and degrading" treatment of all prisoners. But Justice Department lawyers had obligingly declared that the president could ignore such constraints" (CP 166). It is also worth noting that many of these prisoners are not even prisoners at all, but rather considered enemy combatants that are not afforded the protection of the Geneva Convention rules. When the barbarity of what was happening at the prison came to light, an investigation was launched, and many of the lower ranking military members were sentenced to various lengths of jail time. One of the key components that came from the investigation was that "the 800th MP Brigade was not adequately trained for a mission that included operating a prison or penal institution at Abu Ghraib Prison Complex" (CP 160). Of course, those who were involved in the aggravated torture of the prisoners deserve to be punished, but do you believe that they were acting on their own, or were they merely following orders from higher command?
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George,
ReplyDeleteFirst and foremost, if I may, I’d like to take just a moment to thank you! Before today’s lecture, I was completely unaware that you had served in our armed forces, and would have personally thanked you and paid you the proper respect much sooner had I been aware. Thank you for your service and your sacrifice!
Today’s discussion in class brought a bit of a new viewpoint to mind. I was aware that our servicemen and servicewomen went through specialized trainings in order to prepare them for the potential capture and holding that they may receive, but never would I have thought that it was that in-depth and that severe.
As far as the notion of the actions towards these detainees going against the Geneva Conventions, although the actions are abhorrent – in a sense – I believe that they can be justified and that they were warranted given the situations. These countries and these detainees ignore the most basic human rights that all should be afforded. When they participate in their interrogations and their treatment of prisoners and detainees, they do not follow the rules of the Geneva Conventions. Even countries such as Afghanistan, which ratified the treaties in 1956, followed by the succession of Protocols I and II in 2009, whom are supposed to be bound by the international law, break the very rules and guidelines that are meant to be upheld. If individuals captured in such areas, such as Al Qaeda or Taliban operatives, refuse to respect the sanctity of human life, and refuse to award even the most basic of rights to others, why should they be afforded such rights?
Connecting this back to the scope of our class, an argument could be made that those that endured “torture” during the witch-hunts were also justified. Although the majority were not guilty, and confessed in order to end their interrogations – much like Sen. McCan (R-AZ) and his naming of the Green Bay Packers players – they were still acting against the most basic rules and guidelines that were in practice at the time. Replace the attacks on U.S. soil that we’ve experienced at the hands of Al Qaeda with the kidnapping of Christian children and their usage in rituals. Replace the American and international armed forces with Inquisitors such as Gui, and with those such as the Pope. We essentially have the same notion, and the same concept, with differing circumstances surrounding them. Although these may not seem as severe as those that we are experiencing today, when considering the technology and beliefs of the time, I see no difference between accusations of witchcraft and accusations of terrorism. If we are to interrogate those we believe to have intelligence regarding our enemies, shouldn’t the Inquisitors and magistrates be awarded the same freedom to do so? Just a thought.
Thanks for an extremely thought provoking post! And for illuminating me regarding your SERE training this morning.
Have a wonderful day!
Graham