Amnesty unveils shock 'waterboarding' film
An American expert in torture techniques has denounced George Bush's government for allowing waterboarding, a technique which he has described as "out and out torture". He did this as Amnesty International were releasing an advert for British audiences to show just how brutal this technique is.
I think the point that Nance makes best is the fact that Bush has squandered 220 years of American decency in warfare and for what? Tortured people don't even give valuable information, they simply say whatever they think you want to hear in order to make you stop what it is that you are doing.Malcolm Nance, who trained hundreds of US servicemen and women to resist interrogation by putting them through "waterboarding" exercises, demanded an immediate end to the practice by all US personnel.
He said: "They seem to think it is worth throwing the honour of 220 years of American decency in war out of the window. Waterboarding is out-and-out torture, and I'm deeply ashamed President Bush has authorised its use and dragged the US's reputation into the mud."
Mr Bush faced criticism recently when he vetoed a Bill that would have outlawed such methods of "enhanced interrogation" – the White House refuses to describe it as torture.
Mr Nance said: "You have a purpose-built table with straps in a pattern so that people can be strapped and unstrapped quickly. The head is strapped down in such a way so they cannot resist the water. The head is elevated so the water goes down the oesophagus.
"The water is poured very carefully over the nose – you keep a constant pour. You are drowning in water but you don't have the ability to hold your breath. You feel the water going in, you understand that water is filling your lungs."
Mr Nance, who is now an independent consultant, said the technique was also futile, as well as barbaric, as the prisoner would say anything to survive – regardless of its truth.
The election of someone essentially decent like Barack Obama will go some way to restoring America's reputation, but I think it will also need some of the people who enabled torture to take place to face charges before the boil will be truly lanced. This is not something which one can simply move on from. A crime has been committed and someone, somewhere, must accept responsibility.
Amnesty International is leading the campaign to persuade the US to abandon the practice – a form of torture used as long ago as the Spanish Inquisition – and is stepping up its efforts with the release of a graphic and disturbing advertisement.
The broadcast begins with images of glistening clear liquid, suggesting it could be promoting a new brand of vodka or gin. But the camera pulls back to show water is being poured over the face of a desperate man strapped to a table.
Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty International, said: "Our film shows you what the CIA doesn't want you to see – the disgusting reality of half-drowning a person.
"For a few seconds, our film-makers did it for real. Even for those few seconds, it's horrifying to watch. The reality – in a secret prison with no one to stop it – is much, much worse."
I don't know whether the people who need to be prosecuted are the politicians who ordered the torture or the lawyers who mangled all sense of decency in order to proclaim such blatant illegality legal, but it won't be possible to simply sweep this under the carpet.
In a perfect world Bush and Cheney would face charges for what happened on their watch, but we know that's never going to happen. War crimes are only ever committed by our enemies, never by us.
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2 comments:
Both need to face charges. And whether Bush and Cheney will ever face justice or not, there needs to be international warrants out for their arrest, so at the least their asses will be grounded (unfortunate side effect: we'll be stuck with them here in America).
I would back that 100% Dave. Have them too scared to go anywhere other than Israel or Saudi Arabia.
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