Monday, February 15, 2010

Britain alleges Brit tortured by Pakistan at US behest: That was not torture, you tell me!




UK Document Calls US Actions Torture, it gets worse but should it?

Okay lets talk torture! Water boarding we have discussed many times. That most definitely is torture and there is no gray area there. However sleep deprivation? I can handle that. If that is torture I guess that is a kinder gentler version. I will take that to having my finger and toe nails pulled out any day. We knew about the water boarding and sleep deprivation for quite a while but throwing people against walls what the heck is that? Slapping? Nudity, confinement with insects, sleeping in coffins, that is torture?

Stress positioning, throwing cold water on you? Beats the hell out of hot water. As I said, I do not know if that is torture. I remember at GITMO the prisoners were being "tortured" with the likes of listening to Rock music. You can conceive anything as torture even forcing someone to eat nothing but ice cream. Water boarding is torture so is cutting someone pulling out their nails or some of the things I remember hearing the Viet Cong do.

That said, some of what we are hearing here would not occur at a good hotel but there is no way I would call it torture. As I always say, consider the source. The source being Britain I I would have to say the bar is pretty low. It is not the so called torture that is the issue to me because there was no torture but it is about Britain making public material that was released to them in confidence.

That said, the British government has been forced to disclose U.S. intelligence related to the alleged torture of a former GITMO detainee, a move the U.K. had argued could jeopardize future intelligence sharing and you can bet it will. Remember what these guys have called torture in order to get what they want.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office released a seven-paragraph summary of U.S. intelligence that was given in confidence to British security services about ex-detainee Binyam Mohamed's treatment during U.S. interrogations in 2002.

I understand some things have gone on there in the past but have heard too many exaggerated misconstrued allegations to ad hoc believe or act on what I hear.
The paragraphs detail how Mr. Mohamed, an Ethiopian Brit was subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment such as sleep deprivation, threats and shackling. Torture? I mean come on! If that is all I had to be worried about with my sons being captured and tortured I would be relieved. I am sure in reality the Taliban, Al Qaeda, militants whatever you call them call something quite different torture.

Mohamed was detained in Pakistan in 2002 and transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2004 before being released in February 2009. Sleep deprivation, threats, shackling, sounds like American prison life to me. If that is all Mohamed went through he is lucky. We are threatened throughout our life. Your shackles are off, catch up on your sleep and call it a day. Going through with this does not serve US or British interests.





James Joiner
Gardner, Ma
www.anaveragepatriot.com

1 comment:

LadyJtalks said...

rock music as torture? well said if that is what they consider abuse...we will never really know any true stories unless we can see it in person, everything else seems to canned for me.