Truth, Torture, and the American Way on CSPAN2 Now. Anybody else watching?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

Truth, Torture, and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture
Jennifer Harbury

In “Truth, Torture, and the American Way” author Jennifer Harbury charts the history and consequences of American involvement in torture. The author draws on testimonials from torture victims in Latin America, Vietnam, and Iraq. She also tells the story of her husband, working with the Mayan resistance in Guatemala, who disappeared in 1992 and was subsequently murdered. The book also delves into the cases of detainees abused in Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq and Gauntanamo Bay, Cuba. The author is critical of the government’s response to terror as well as the history of the CIA’s conduct towards prisoners of war.

Author Bio: Jennifer Harbury is the author of "Searching for Everardo" and "Bridge of Courage." She is also a member of the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee's Campaign to Stop Torture Permanently (S.T.O.P.).

Publisher: Beacon Press 25 Beacon Street Boston, MA 02108

[NMDemDist2]

1. i am n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

2. She's just laying it all out there...

"The Sister told them everything she thought they wanted to hear, so they would stop burning her and attacking her with dogs. My husband told them nothing for 2 years. This is what you get from Torture. Nothing, because they know you are going to kill them anyway, or Niagra Falls, every name in the phone book, and it's useless"

Paraphrased.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

3. The "Vietnam Position"

[specimenfred1984]

4. Yes, Staying Awake For It

I was already aware of most of her points about torture not working at all. She just made the additional points of "Asking our allies to be aiders and abetters can't be done" and "it's only a matter of time before Pinochet-type charges are filed against the U.S.".

Here's the worst part for most of us Americans: "they are using our tax dollars to do this and we are responsible". Most Americans don't even see it that way or even worse, they support it.

The U.S. using widespread and systematic torture is an abomination.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

5. US Has Sanctioned Torture for Far Too Long

by Jennifer K. Harbury

As the United Nations intensifies its scrutiny of torture practices in Iraq, many Americans feel outrage and confusion.

How could this have happened? The truth lies in the realities that led to the Katrina disaster. The horrors are not new, but long-term and deep-rooted.

The photographs of Abu Ghraib torture practices left many of us with a chilling sense of deja vu. Anyone who survived torture in Latin America or lost a loved one to death squads there, remembers these techniques. We also remember the U.S. participants. Although our government leaders insist that the recent abuses were acts of a few "bad apples" - young MPs out of control - we can only shake our heads. We have heard it all before. While our young soldiers face prison time for following orders, those who authorized and ordered the torture continue to violate our laws with full impunity. Why?

Given the extraordinary flow of disclosures, confirming the use of identical U.S. torture practices throughout Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo, the "bad apple" defense is coy at best. It is impossible for so many soldiers to dream up identical techniques by coincidence. We are dealing with official policy, not individual excess. Legal responsibility goes all the way to the top.


the rest is here - http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0924-30.htm

[EFerrari]

6. Donald Rumsfeld is a felon and should be in jail.

What Jennifer says confirms what we've believed for so long. Torture is our policy and our government has done it's best to put itself above the law.

[EFerrari]

7. She has good responses to BushCo's talking points.

Torture doesn't work and it puts us all in danger. Our service people are more likely to be tortured if captured and we create hatred of America when we use torture.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee website

Protecting Human Rights Worldwide for over 65 years

http://www.uusc.org/