Well, the nasty truth is out. A few “bad apples” have committed “abhorrent” acts in “isolated incidents” that are not typical of the US military. At least that’s the spin.
The facts of American torture are more upsetting than just the recent events at Abu Ghraib prison. Torture, degradation, and murder have been in the CIA and US and British military intelligence playbooks forever. Much of what’s in the news this week is familiar to former Northern Irish and Vietnamese prisoners, and to some of the 60,000 graduates of the School of Americas, which once published a guide on torture and has trained some of the most sadistic human rights abusers in this hemisphere. Worse, ever since 9/11, American pundits and policy makers have begun to openly speculate whether torture should ever be an option, and many think it should. Though only a tiny proportion of the military uses these tactics, let’s be clear that they most certainly are practiced.
While individual soldiers must bear responsibility for either abandoning or failing to have a conscience, the Bush administration’s buck-passing and rationalizations do nothing to convince either the Western or Muslim worlds that it holds itself accountable to similar standards. Defense Secretary Rumsfeld bears great responsibility for creating many of these problems by underestimating troop strength, using a large proportion of mercenaries outside military control, and then keeping Congress and even the President in the dark about problems. The President, as usual, seems to be asleep at the wheel, with as porous a memory of events as Condoleeza Rice’s. Finally, it’s a bit of a shock to realize that it was Colin Powell who whitewashed the My Lai Massacre.
Despite loud protestations that the images we have all seen are “un-American,” the US military has had torture in its repertoire for a long time. We just haven’t had 100,000 National Guard citizen soldiers with instant cameras snapping photos of it before. Because of the decent human concern of soldiers who did come forward despite the risk of retribution, like Specialist Joseph Darby, the abuses at Abu Ghraib were brought to light. Now we must demand the same morality, humanity, and accountability from the highest ranks of the military and the Commander-in-Chief. With regime change in Washington, we just might get it.
So, a few “bad apples?” Sure. I’ll tell you exactly where in Washington they work.
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