INVESTIGATE TORTURE

The New York Times > Washington > U.S. Military Says 26 Inmate Deaths May Be Homicide

“The Army will investigate every detainee death both inside and outside detention facilities,” said Col. Joseph Curtin, a senior Army spokesman. “Simply put, detainee abuse is not tolerated, and the Army will hold soldiers accountable. We are taking action to prosecute those suspected of abuse while taking steps now to train soldiers how to avoid such situations in the future.”

I’m sure these guys aren’t intentionally killing prisoners, especially not the ones who are securely in custody and off the streets. But there is clearly a culture of abuse that has been allowed to flourish and has become widespread.

Inmate deaths are a logical result in such a culture. The Army will investigate every case and hold soldiers accountable. But, there are others that need to be held accountable.

Consider the abuse case of Specialist Charles Graner Jr., the Abu Ghraib “Ringleader.” First, isn’t a specialist a Sergeant? There must have been Officers in charge of Abu Ghraib, right? That is, there must have been someone on the premises of Abu Ghraib that both outranked Graner, and knew what was going on.

Why was the abuse allowed to continue? Why wasn’t it stopped immediately?

(1) Perhaps Graner’s superiors were rogue actors determined to extract the most information from their prisoners. They fostered the culture at Abu Ghraib and allowed the abuse to occur. Which is what this report would have us believe.

(2) Perhaps Graner’s superiors were encouraged, or given instructions from above.

To accept the premise that Graner and his group were just out of control, or even the first premise above, is to reject the fact that the same kind of abuse was going on in other places in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and in Guantanamo. It is also to reject the relevance of the torture memos.

What purpose do those memos serve if not to “…Help the [Mafia] Don Stay Out of Jail?”

Support the troops! Don’t make them the scapegoats for this! Don’t exacerbate the dangers they might face if captured.

INVESTIGATE TORTURE