Cenk Uygur: Does America Stand for Torture?

Cenk Uygur: Does America Stand for Torture?
09.27.2005, HuffingtonPost.com

Does anyone really believe there are 230 rogue soldiers who were all out of control and did the same abuse throughout Iraq at the same time by coincidence? If you do, please check your beverage because it is clearly either way too much Jack Daniels or way too much Kool-Aid.

And remember these are only the 400 cases the Army decided to pursue. As is evident from the testimonials of the men in the 82nd Airborne, there were many cases of abuse that the Pentagon refused to investigate.

Now, I’ve been calling what happened to the detainees “abuse” for most of this piece. But I’m soft pedaling it. To be fair, we should call it what it is – torture.

If that word makes you uncomfortable and you instinctively don’t want to believe it, then I will let the soldiers of the 82nd Airborne explain it to you:

“We would give them blows to the head, chest, legs, and stomach, and pull them down, kick dirt on them. This happened every day.”

“[Military intelligence personnel] wanted intel. As long as no PUC’s (Persons Under Control) came up dead, it happened. We kept it to broken arms and legs.”

“Despite my efforts, I have been unable to get clear, consistent answers from my leadership about what constitutes lawful and human treatment of detainees. I am certain that this confusion contributed to a wide range of abuses including death threats, beatings, broken bones, murder, exposure to elements, extreme forced physical exertion, hostage taking, stripping, sleep deprivation and degrading treatment.”

Now imagine if Saddam’s forces had captured some our boys and stripped them naked, broke their arms and legs, took members of their family hostage, threatened to kill the soldiers and sometimes carried out that threat. What do you think we’d call it then? Abuse?

My guess is that we would be perfectly comfortable calling that torture if it happened to us. The Army has also investigated over 30 homicides of detainees by US soldiers, including throwing people off of bridges, suffocating them and, most often, beating them to death. I guess those were the cases where we couldn’t just keep it to breaking arms and legs.

It isn’t any easier for me to write this as it is for you to read it. I love this country and I have always believed that is a special place. A place where things like this don’t happen. A city on a hill that aims to be a light unto the world. That is what makes me so sick about what has happened.

And it has happened in our name. They did this in the name of America.

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