After 9/11 the GW Bush administration declared war on Al-Qaada. The Pentagon aided Afghanistan’s Northern Alliance in ousting the Taliban from the cities. The foreign mujaddin warriors attempted to flee the country, but hundreds were captured by the US-supported warlords and sent to Fort Qala-i-Jangi for questioning. These prisoners were immediately subjected to torture by the CIA under direct orders from the American government.
Faced with death from vengeful Americans the jihadist seized their guards’ weapons and attacked the temporary torture center, killing a CIA interrogator attached to that agency’s Special Activities Division. After a vicious battle to retake the fortress over 400 of the foreign fighters were killed by bombs, fire, bullets. Amongst the 87 survivors was an American, John Walker Lindh, who had been fighting with the Taliban against the Northern Alliance.
Faced with a fanatical opponent spanning the globe the US government under Bush opened clandestine torture camps in numerous countries one being Thailand, where the ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ were practiced at the Voice of America relay station in Udon Thani. All This prime ministers have denied existence of this safe house, where prisoners “were thrown against fake walls, forced into stressful physical functions, involuntarily stripped naked and slapped.” according the Bangkok Post.
The Geneva Convention states in articles 2 and 4 that No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat or war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
And secondly each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offenses under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.
Americans were rightly angered after 9/11 and as a nation wanted blood for blood.
The Thais turned a blind eye to the operations at the black sites.
Waterboarding was legally green lighted by Bush’s lawyer John Yoo.
Abu Zubaydah and And al-Rahim al-Nashiri were subjected to the modern adaptation of the Spanish Inquisition’s water torture scores of times, despite protests from the FBI.
All records of these sessions were destroyed at the end of the Bush regime.
President Obama condemned the practice and banned water boarding after his election, however the Defense Department refuses to say whether they are adhering to the ban and his CIA director appointment of chief torturer John Brennan has raised concerns within the Senate about ongoing black sites under CIA or Defense Department jurisdiction.
“In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, we did some things that were wrong. We did a whole lot of things that were right, but we tortured some folks. We did things that were contrary to our values,” said President Obama and those two words ‘some people’ is entirely inaccurate.
The USA tortured thousands of Iraqi, Afghanis, and anyone caught in the War of Terror.
Most without any concrete evidence as to their guilt other than confessions exacted under pain and duress.
I hope those safe houses in Thailand are closed, but no one is admitted on the premises, so it would be safe to surmise they are open for business of torture.
I googled the name of the military coup leader and CIA torture camps and was informed that those items matched no news items.
Secrets are best kept a secret, when no one tells them.
Foto is of the Chinese Water Torture from Sing Sing Prison in New York.
Torture.
The American tradition.