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Monday, May 17, 2004
The Charming Americans Just stop it. At the Camp War Horse detention centre in Baguba, north of Baghdad, it is a surreal scene: US soldiers handing out cash to freed prisoners along with a note saying "You have not been mistreated." Are the Iraqis this stupid? Are we this stupid to interpret this as remotely appropriate? One of the biggest industries in America is to punitively sue one's fellow citizens for real or perceived infliction of pain. Played just right, a twisted wrist could make a man a millionaire. For Iraqis who were tortured, on the other hand, a few bucks and an invitation to auto-hypnosis are enough to make them whole again. Let's get this straight: if there were a case where an American was subject to lurid, recorded, deliberate, malicious, gleeful sexual humiliation, it would be front-page news for weeks. Abner Louima. In all likelihood, there are hundreds of Iraqis (and ? knows how many Afghanis) who have suffered through this. Was the beating and real and simulated rape of all these Iraqis even effective? American soldiers are dying and being grievously wounded in their thousands. Did the (ugh) interrogations head off a significant number of additional attacks? How hard do we have to lean on this country to liberate it? via The Agonist |