Where is the Outrage?

Are we Americans truly savages or merely tone-deaf in matters of morality, and therefore more guilty of terminal indifference than venality? It's a question demanding an answer in response to the publication of the detailed 370-page report on U.S. complicity in torture, issued last week by the Justice Department's inspector general.

Because the report was widely cited in the media and easily accessed as a pdf file on the Internet, it is fair to assume that those of our citizens who remain ignorant of the extent of their government's commitment to torture as an official policy have made a choice not to be informed. A less appealing conclusion would be that they are aware of the heinous acts fully authorized by our president but conclude that such barbarism is not inconsistent with that American way of life that we celebrate.

But that troubling assessment of moral indifference is contradicted by the scores of law enforcement officers, mostly from the FBI, who were so appalled by what they observed as routine official practice in the treatment of prisoners by the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo that they risked their careers to officially complain. A few brave souls from the FBI even compiled a "war crimes file," suggesting the unthinkable--that we might come to be judged as guilty by the standard we have imposed on others. Superiors in the Justice Department soon put a stop to such FBI efforts to hold CIA agents and other U.S. officials accountable for the crimes they committed.

That this systematic torture was carried out not by a few conveniently described "bad apples" but rather represented official policy condoned at the highest level of government was captured in one of those rare media reports that remind us why the Founding Fathers signed off on the First Amendment.

"These were not random acts," the New York Times editorialized. "It is clear from the inspector general's report that this was organized behavior by both civilian and military interrogators following the specific orders of top officials. The report shows what happens when an American president, his secretary of defense, his Justice Department and other top officials corrupt American law to rationalize and authorize the abuse, humiliation and torture of prisoners."

One of those top officials, who stands revealed in the inspector general's report as approving the torture policy, is Condoleezza Rice, who in her capacity as White House national security adviser turned away the concerns of then-Attorney General John D. Ashcroft as to the severe interrogation measures being employed. Rice, as ABC-TV reported in April, chaired the top-level meetings in 2002 in the White House Situation Room that signed off on the CIA treatment of prisoners--"whether they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called water boarding. ..." According to the report, the former academic provost of Stanford University came down on the side of simulated drowning.

As further proof that women are not necessarily more squeamish than men in condoning such practices, the report offers examples of sexual and religious denigration of the mostly Muslim prisoners by female interrogators carrying out an official policy of "invasion of space by a female." In one recorded instance observed by startled FBI agents, a female interrogator was seen with a prisoner "bending his thumbs back and grabbing his genitals ... to cause him pain." One of the agents testified that this was not "a case of a rogue interrogator acting on her own." He said he witnessed a "pep rally" meeting conducted by a top Defense Department official "in which the interrogators were encouraged to get as close to the torture statute line as possible."

That was evidently the norm, according to FBI agents who witnessed the interrogations. As the New York Times reported, "One bureau memorandum spoke of 'torture techniques' used by military interrogators. Agents described seeing things like inmates handcuffed in a fetal position for up to 24 hours, left to defecate on themselves, intimidated by dogs, made to wear women's underwear and subjected to strobe lights and extreme heat and cold."

In the end, what seems to have most outraged the hundreds of FBI agents interviewed for the report is that the interrogation tactics were counterproductive. Evidently the FBI's long history in such matters had led to a protocol that stressed gaining the confidence of witnesses rather than terrorizing them into madness. But an insane prisoner is the one most likely to tell this president of the United States what he wants to hear: They hate us for our values.

Robert Scheer's new book, "The Pornography of Power: How Defense Hawks Hijacked 9/11 and Weakened America," will be released June 9 by Twelve.

Comments

[McPander]

The fundamental problem is found in the book the "Shock Doctrine". The U.S. has been torturing for many years. The fact that we are being told about it is the scary thing.

The propose is to make people like you and me stop before we speak. The purpose is to put fear into critics. There is no value in gaining information with torture. The purpose is to threaten the people.

[seawolf77]

Exactly. As with anything Republicans, the problem is obfuscation. What are they hiding. Now every time I speak to a Republican I put on my Bose noise cancelling speakers so I can cancel out all the BS and try and hear what they are really saying. "They hate us for our freedom" = "They hate us for our greed and we must destroy them to preserve out greed." "Mission Accomplished " = "You have no freakin idea what mission I am referring to." "Out heart goes out to all the people who are suffering down in New Orleans "= "We don't give a rat's ass about any of you and we really hope you drown like the bunch of rats you are. Don't expect a freakin iota of help from us." Get the idea. Please all Dems, put your noise cancelling headphones on. HEAR IT!!!!!!!!!!!

[Raemond]

Torture is a very difficult issue.
It's the only thing that is unequivocally illegal. In any international statute, in all domestic rights protection legislation, there are exceptions. To detain someone without charge is illegal, unless there is an overrding case of national security, it's proportionate with the risk, etc. That rider is added to most bans by the European Convention on Human Rights, buy UN conventions, geneva conventions, whatever. never to torture.

When you study international relations one of the first question you get asked is about the ticking bomb scenario. There is a bomb in a public place, you have the guy that planted it, if you torture him you may be able to save thousands of lives. Your family could be at risk. What do you do?



Of course it's different when you conisder a state sponsored systematic programme. Especially as the information gained is generally considered unreliable, and even more so when the professed aim of the programme is to stop human rights abuses.


Unfortunately dehumanisation of military personelle is unavoidable when they're trained to kill and follow orders unthinkingly.

Armies having been doing unspeakable things to other people throughout history, I think the only way to stop it would be for everyone to refuse to serve in any military organisation. But that seems unlikely ever to happen when the economy is so screwed that for many enlisting is the only option for non criminal employment.

[McPander]

"Torture is a very difficult issue"

I bet you wouldn't feel that way if you where the one being tortured.

I would also like to highlight your other words "they're trained to kill and follow orders unthinkingly"

This is true....

[CitizenLegislatorCC]

Indeed.

Learn what an innocent German Turk was put through by "the world's only superpower" (that would be us):

http://www.amazon.com/Five-Years-My-Life-Guantanamo/dp/0230603742

The First Amendment-protected press now protects the powerful and afflicts the powerless. It obscures and minimizes what our government is doing, instead of revealing and informing. They must be held to account.

Building on that media-generated base of ignorance, "our" federal legislature is in HIDING from its duties and its constituents. Using Constitutional means to enforce the rule of law is now considered an OBSTACLE to an unidentified "agenda" of legislation by the Democratic Political Party controlling Congress. Why should anyone vote to increase that political party's already-substantial power over the House of "Representatives" this fall when it refuses to repair the crumbling foundation?

Good Luck to Pelosi's opponent(s) at the ballot box. VOTE June 3rd, San Franciscans, to send D.C. a message they cannot ignore.

Meanwhile, the President is now King. The media and Congress say as much, so it must be true, right? So wait to let a Democratic King decide matters of war and peace on his own next year, and let the Congress continue to pass the buck, as they're trying to do. The Democratic Party and its blind loyalists don't care, as long as the King is one of their own - because neither dishonest political party has any interest in reclaiming our Republic.

http://foreignaffairs.house.gov/110/41756.pdf

[rbenjamin]

The rage has been smoldering and it's starting to burn. It's not just the war, it's the economy, the disrespect for rule of law, hell disrespect for people period. Lest we ever forget, The Pogue's Wake of the Medusa should be our new national anthem.

The guests are stood in silence
They stare and drink their wine
On the wall the canvas hangs
Frozen there in time
They marvel at the beauty
The horror and despair
At the wake of the Medusa
No one shed a tear

Sit my friends and listen
Put your glasses down
Sit my friends and listen
To the voices of the drowned

In the moonlight's ghostly glow
I waken in a dream
Once more upon that raft I stand
Upon a raging sea
In my ears the moans and screams
Of the dying ring
Somewhere in the darkness
The siren softly sings

Out there in the waves she stands
And smiling there she calls
As the lightning cracks the sky
The wind begins to howl

The architects of our doom
Around their tables sit
And in their thrones of power
Condemn those they've cast adrift
Echoes down the city street
Their harpies laughter rings
Waiting for the curtain call
Oblivious in the wings

The casket is empty
Abandon ye all hope
They ran off with the money
And left us with the rope

[Boobaloo]

I am repulsed, disgusted AND outraged.

This 'a few bad apples' garbage never passed muster with me, the military is diseased with the lowest rank of humanity and they need to have dont to them what they're doing to innocent people.

Every single participant in this war is a war criminal.

[Paulitik]

I don't think there is a lack of outrage, I think we all just suffer outrage fatigue. Nothing surprises us anymore. We've tried everything short of a violent uprising (which should not be an option) to have our voice heard, but continue to fall on deaf ears.

The only thing we can do is vote for Barack Obama, the only candidate who is really offering us a change, and has the constitutional wisdom to right these wrongs.

[in4success]

(could be our only option) and we should be accepting that. halliburton detention camps on US soil and shackled box cars (google it)

time to start smelling the roses of possibility.

just sayin

[Dap]

Poignant

[95flhtcu]

What exactly is it that you'd like us to do? Write or call our representatives? At least in my state, I'm not on the big donor list so when I do that I don't even get a staffer response.

Your question ought to be, where is the outrage of or elected representatives? the general outrage is all around you. This kind of blogging to the left wing is entirely pointless. Consider writing about something that we can change or do something about. Until we have the whitehouse, NOTHING is going to change, no matter how outraged we are.

[racom]

When most of the elected officials are complicit in the war and all the aspects of the war, they will not point fingers or question the results. They will do what they are now doing, running and hiding. We are governed by cowards. This nation does not have representative government.

[drgrph]

Do I care? Sure. But the day you speak out against the torture against the least of us, the unborn, then you can have the moral standing to lecture me about torture. Until then, feel free to speak to the unquestioning liberals, progressives, far left or whatever else you wish to be called. Gosh, your almost as bad as that overbearing and self-righteous Keith Olberman.

[in4success]

at least olbermann's rants are fact-based . . . unlike your heroes, limbaugh, o'rielly and hanity who make shit up on the fly ---- beware the NEO-LIBS!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!!

heh.

dumbass -- when your shady savior pat roberston denounces state sponsored abortion in china, come talk to us -- but he won't! --why, they'd take away his diamond mine stock... ya know, where the peasants work.

blind idiot --

[NorCalNative]

Mr. Scheer, here's an example of how one Pentagon-connected Retired Military Analyst for Fox News spoke about GITMO in an e-mail to another Fox News analyst (Gordon Cucullu) in the Pentagon's DoD Outreach program.

Major General Paul Vallely (U.S. Army-retired, Military Analyst for Fox News)

pdf # 6659 (2/9/06) Bates stamp # 6659 FOIA documents (speaking about the diet at GITMO following a trip there)

"This article is crap......detainees at GITMO are being fed quite well (5,000-6,000) calories per day and getting fat........."

[tbone99]

And he forgot to mention its delivered by force through a non lubricated nasal feeding tube.
Hey a calorie's a calorie.

[hopeless277]

We are savages and barbarians. Also lazy and stupid. Whatever disasters happen to us as a result of GWB, we deserve them. Lord knows The Bush Gang will never be brought to justice.

[popecorvo]

Was listening to one of the radio gang today talking about how Chinese nationalism is potentially quite dangerous, because nationalism is always dangerous, and about how if the Chinese become more materialistic that's a good thing, because people concerned with buying bigger cars never go to war...and on and on in this vein.

Does it NEVER occur to these self-righteous pontificators that they are talking about THEMSELVES? And getting it all wrong, at that?

[NorCalNative]

Mr. Scheer, This was a teleconference that took place 7/13/05 concerning prisoner treatment at GITMO.

pdf # 7366 (Bates # 7366): FOIA (Pentagon's Retired Military Analysts program)

Mr. Maginnis: (Lieutenant Colonel Robert L. Maginnis, U.S. Army-retired, Fox News) Question: With regard to the female allegation of a lap dance and fake menstrual blood. Can you respond to that?

Craddock: (aide to Dod officer ?) Let me turn you over to Mark or John.

Schmidt: (aide) The substantiated-ah, first of all the lap dance was not substantiated. We could find no evidence, through any witness, that there was ever a lap dance. There was, however, multiple incidences of gender coercion where a female would invade the personal space of the detainee, to include touching him, straddling him without putting weight on him, running her fingers through his hair, touching him with perfume and that sort of thing, but no lap dance.

The incident concerning the fake menstrual blood. That incident was not authorized. The occurance happened while the female interrogator was interrogating this high-value detainee. He spit in her face. She left the room-she was fairly distressed. While she was out of the room she took a marking pen, marked it on her hand-red, went back into the room, approached the detainee, touched his face or shoulders, told him that it was menstrual blood and that she was menstruating, and "What do you think of that?" And of course he went nuts.

[lisakaz2]

Of course we're fed up. Well, most of us who aren't brainwashed by Fox and other dolts. We've been showing our anger in elections. Don't expect the corporatist media to cover it much, tho.

[ohmercy]

Well sir, it is interesting that you ask.
I remember very clearly when the story came out that the idiot king had admitted he knew and approved of his senior cabinet and staff members colluding in the actual choreography of the torture sessions. I saw his smirk on a small picture here on HuffPo. There were a couple of hundred comments.

Unfortunately that day the story got lost on the really big news Huffington Post was covering. This was such an important story that there were at least 4 or 5 or more columns and posts dedicated to it, there were well over 10,000 comments and of course many more hits on these stories. I lost count. It was a story of historical proportions that so consumed the HuffPo readership outrage, the implications, that of course torture was just a footnote to the amoral insidiousness of the original post.

[ljmck]

A population that largely favors the death penalty is not going to get exercised about torture.