UGA Rendition - The Rhetoric of Torture as a US Interrogation Technique

Please join us for a presentation on torture in the United States

2007-04-16T13:57:00.000-05:00

Jose Padilla update

2007-04-11T09:13:00.000-05:00

A federal judge has recently ruled that Jose Padilla may be tried for terrorism despite his motion for dismissal of charges under the claim that he was tortured. His trial is now cleared to begin as early as next week. Read about it at CNN.com http://www.cnn.com/2007/LAW/04/10/padilla.terror.ap/index.html

See the Young Turks discuss the Padilla case on Air America

Guantanamo - "Caged Animals" of the Bush Regime

2007-04-11T08:46:00.000-05:00

This video gives some of the backstory of Gitmo. The Bush administration claims the right to hold detainees indefinitely and all are presumed guilty. The video includes audio from a BBC reporter who was given a tour of the facility, and opinions of legal experts who claim detainees are being deprived of rights guaranteed under international law.

"Amnesty International Trailer on Extraordinary Rendition"

2007-04-03T19:40:00.000-05:00

This trailer on rendition provides a firsthand account of the physical and psychological torture suffered by Binyam Mohamed as he was apprehended from Karachi Airport while attempting to return home to Britain. Through Binyam Mohamed's diary entries he details the degrading and inhumane treatment he was subjected to while being interrogated.

Source: Amnesty International

Pro-war, Pro-torture?

2007-04-03T19:04:00.000-05:00

In a world where (in Carl van Clauswitz’s words) war is a continuation of politics by any other means, by what other means may war continue? The torture of inmates at Abu Ghraib occurred, not out of spite, malice, or cruelty, but rather to ‘set the conditions’ for effective intelligence gathering for the war effort in Iraq. All it took was 2 bombs, one at the Red Cross, and one at the UN, to throw the post-invasion Iraqi reconstruction effort into a war (on terror) footing. As soon as the counter-insurgency ‘mop-up’ efforts of the willing coalition became an extension of the War on Terror, Major General Geoff Miller arrived at Abu Ghraib from Guantanamo Bay, interrogation guidelines in hand to ‘set the conditions’ for intel gathering.

The steps we are willing to take in the interrogation of prisoners are a function of the perceived need for rapid intelligence gathering from those prisoners. Torture is one available tool for rapid intelligence gathering, and perhaps the only tool available able to stop an urgent 'ticking time bomb scenario' for American troops or citizens. If we believe winning the next stage of the Global War on Terror to be vital to the survival of our nation, and the civilized world, we then have to ask: is it possible to be pro-war, but anti-torture?

Duncan
wordfight.blogspot.com

"A Tortured Debate"

2007-04-02T12:31:00.000-05:00

The article "A Tortured Debate" addresses the conflicting opinions of the FBI and the CIA as the United States adopts harsher strategies of interrogation methods post 9/11. This debate sparked by the capture of Ibn al-Shaykh al-Libi draws attention to the interrogation methods the United States endorses as a result of authorization from the President, lawyers, and policymakers. For the complete story click the link below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5197853/site/newsweek/

Source: Newsweek, Inc.

"A Culture of Abuse"

2007-04-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

A Culture of Abuse briefly recaps the events surrounding the Abu Ghraib scandal. In addition, law professor John Yoo, formerly of the Justice Department and an author of several presidential memos rationalizing the use of torture and the expansion of executive power, gives his opinion on the scandal at Abu Ghraib and discusses the role he played in defining torture for the United States. For the complete interview please click the link below.

http://video.on.nytimes.com/?fr_story=f370f1c601793799be14dbe36d6d0ae65ff5a1dd

Source: NY Times video

From the Editor

2007-03-30T15:35:00.000-05:00

Should the United States have a policy where torture is forbidden in any situation? In a “ticking time bomb” situation, where the mastermind is in custody, and thousands of lives are at stake, is it permissible to engage in torture? These questions have been debated by legal scholars, academics, and students currently enrolled in the UGA Speech Communication class “The Rhetoric of Torture.” Some legal scholars, like Alan Dershowitz, have argued that, like it or not, torture is happening. This being the case, it should be dragged out of the shadows and into judicial light and accountability through torture warrants. Other noted scholars, like Slavoj Zizek, have warned that normalizing torture through codification contributes to a collective desensitization process. Some have argued, purely on the basis of practicality, that information gained under torture is notoriously unreliable, so we shouldn’t do it. This is an unsatisfactory argument to us. It is tantamount to saying that if we could make torture reliable there would be no compelling reason not to do it.

There are no clear answers to these questions, and we offer them up for discussion to our readers. Are there convincing reasons to have a policy where torture is NEVER allowed, even if it would yield results, and even in a ticking time bomb scenario?

"Abu Ghraib Interrogator Speaks"

2007-03-29T16:25:00.000-05:00

Amnesty Video

2007-03-22T08:47:00.000-05:00

It's not only our government and military that are responsible for torture, but all of us.

Check out this video clip from Amnesty International to find out more...

http://www.amnestyusa.org/stoptorture/renditions/index.html

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed: Confessions and Torture

2007-03-19T22:55:00.000-05:00

In March 2007, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed testified before a closed-door hearing in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. According to transcripts of the hearing released by the Pentagon, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said "I was responsible for the 9/11 operation, from A to Z." The transcripts also show Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessing to organizing the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, the Bali nightclub bombings and the attempted Richard Reid shoe bombing, as well as planned attacks on Heathrow Airport and Big Ben clock tower in London, the beheading of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and planned assassination attempts on Pope John Paul II, Pervez Musharraf and Bill Clinton. (source: Wikipedia)

However, the confession of Mohammed is called into question due to the interrogation techniques used to attain the confession. While Katherine Shrader, Associated Press Writer, concludes her article on Mohammed's confession:

The CIA has denied it uses torture. "The agency's terrorist interrogation program has been conducted lawfully, with great care and close review, producing vital information that has helped disrupt plots and save lives," spokesman Paul Gimigliano said.

Brian Ross and Richard Esposito of ABC News offer the counter evidence:

The CIA sources described a list of six "Enhanced Interrogation Techniques" instituted in mid-March 2002 and used, they said, on a dozen top al Qaeda targets incarcerated in isolation at secret locations on military bases in regions from Asia to Eastern Europe. According to the sources, only a handful of CIA interrogators are trained and authorized to use the techniques:
1. The Attention Grab: The interrogator forcefully grabs the shirt front of the prisoner and shakes him.
2. Attention Slap: An open-handed slap aimed at causing pain and triggering fear.
3. The Belly Slap: A hard open-handed slap to the stomach. The aim is to cause pain, but not internal injury. Doctors consulted advised against using a punch, which could cause lasting internal damage.
4. Long Time Standing: This technique is described as among the most effective. Prisoners are forced to stand, handcuffed and with their feet shackled to an eye bolt in the floor for more than 40 hours. Exhaustion and sleep deprivation are effective in yielding confessions.
5. The Cold Cell: The prisoner is left to stand naked in a cell kept near 50 degrees. Throughout the time in the cell the prisoner is doused with cold water.
6. Water Boarding: The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.
According to the sources, CIA officers who subjected themselves to the water boarding technique lasted an average of 14 seconds before caving in. They said al Qaeda's toughest prisoner, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, won the admiration of interrogators when he was able to last between two and two-and-a-half minutes before begging to confess.

It is "bad interrogation. I mean you can get anyone to confess to anything if the torture's bad enough," said former CIA officer Bob Baer.

Paul Craig Roberts:

...I remember speaking years ago with Soviet dissident Valdimir Bukovsky about the behavior of Soviet dissidents under torture. He replied that people pressed for names under torture would try to remember the names of war dead and people who had passed away. Those who retained enough of their wits under torture would confess to an unbelievable array of crimes in an effort to alert the public to the falsity of the entire process...

...Mohammed's confession admits to 31 planned and actual attacks all over the world, including blowing up the Panama Canal and assassinating presidents Carter and Clinton and the Pope. Having taken responsibility for the whole ball of wax along with everything else that he could imagine, he was the entire show. No other terrorists needed.

Senator Patrick Leahy discussing rendition of Maher Arar with Alberto Gonzales

2007-02-19T13:08:00.000-05:00

Definition of Extraordinary Rendition

2007-02-19T12:58:00.000-05:00

Extraordinary rendition is an United States extra-judicial procedure which involves the sending of untried criminal suspects, suspected terrorists or alleged supporters of groups which the US Government considers to be terrorist organizations, to countries other than the United States for imprisonment and interrogation.

This term is not yet defined in international law.

Legal scholar L. Ali Khan, a professor of law at Washburn University School of Law in Kansas, makes the following distinctions between rendition, extradition, and deportation:

Extradition is an open procedure under which a fugitive is lawfully sent to a requesting state where he has committed a serious crime. Rendition is a covert operation under which even an innocent person may be forcibly transferred to a state where he has committed no crime. It is like a bully dispatching a helpless prey to another bully in another town.

Rendition is not even deportation. A person may be deported under US immigration laws for a variety of reasons including charges of terrorism. Deportation however implies that the person is in the United States. Rendition is not territorial. US agencies can abduct a person from anywhere in the world and render him to a friendly government. In December 2003, US agents pulled Khaled El-Marsi from a bus on the Serbia-Republic of Macedonia border and flew him to Afghanistan where he was drugged and tortured [...]

Defying international treaties and US laws, rendition works on the dark fringes of legality. The [UN] Torture Convention specifies that no signatory state shall expel, return, or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture. The Convention is so strict in its prohibition of torture that it allows no exceptions under which any such transfer may be justified. Additionally, it is a crime under US laws to commit torture outside the United States. If the victim dies of torture, the crime is punishable with death. It is also a crime for US officials to conspire to commit torture outside the United States. Under both the Convention and US laws, therefore, rendition is strictly prohibited if the rendered person would be subjected to torture.

Information from Wikipedia.org

Definition of Torture

2007-02-19T12:50:00.000-05:00

The Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, adopted by the General Assembly on 9 December 1975 in the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as:

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Disclaimers

2007-02-19T11:29:00.000-05:00

This blog (www.ugarendition.blogspot.com) is a class project of the University of Georgia's Speech Communication class 3310 in Spring semester 2007. The information presented on this blog is posted solely for educational use concerning the United States policies regarding torture and rendition. The information herein reflects the opinion of the students as a collective in a classroom and does not reflect the opinion of any one students of the class, the instructor of the class, the Speech Communication Department of the University of Georgia, or the University of Georgia itself.

Every effort is made to provide accurate and complete information. However, we cannot guarantee that there will be no errors. The members of the class assume no legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, product, or process disclosed herein and do not represent that use of such information, product, or process would not infringe on privately owned rights.

All non-original work will be protected under the educational fair use policy and credit will be given where credit is due. All original work is protected by a Creative Commons 2.5 License provided below.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 License.