"Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and a few other NGOs, have designated June Torture Awareness Month. We've created a blogroll you can join if you're interested. You can find it here. The idea is that everyone is linked to from the blogroll, and in exchange, you discuss torture (as you already do), and link to the Torture Awareness site to help support the NGOs.I've added their logo to the site (over on the right). what a strange world.
There's a lot of bloggers who are angry about human rights abuse in the War on Terror. If we coordinate, we can show our support and help Amnesty and HRW make Torture Awareness Month a success."
* jeralyn:
"Some Saudis do not believe the (gitmo) suicide story and think the men were killed. Others say they believe they were driven to suicide by torture."* glenn notes that the story that specter was offering amnesty for breaking spying laws is apparently incorrect.
13 comments:
A strange world indeed when we need a Torture Awareness Month... thanks for joining.
thnx elendil
good project - and a great, strong, graphic.
proud to support you (am horrified that we even need to consider something like this)
* jeralyn:
"Some Saudis do not believe the (gitmo) suicide story and think the men were killed. Others say they believe they were driven to suicide by torture."
The more I think about it, the more I think something about it stinks. Let's look at the possibilities:
1. They committed suicide as a Jihad statement, which makes great copy for promoting the "Waw on Terra". Jibes with 3 committing suicide at once, but after however long at Gitmo, would they have the will?
2. Political protest statement the only way they really had left. Multiple incidence conforms to this possibility, but again, could the will be there?
3. They committed suicide because they'd been broken by torture. Odd with 3 going at once. Possible considering the little we know of the circumstances (i.e. Gitmo is a torture site)
4. They were hunger strikers who'd succumbed. Could enough time have passed? How long has the striking really been going?
5. They were 'passively' killed or allowed to die. (i.e. death by negligence after a session)
6. They were actively eliminated.
Without knowing who they are, or the circumstances and reason for their capture, any speculation on motives for 5 or 6 is just that. For that matter, with nothing on the characters of the men involved, 1-4 are up in the air.
One thing for sure: the current line still makes the best story for the WH, and for that reason alone, it should be suspect.
Bottom line: we don't know enough to say anything with any certainty, and we still can't trust the smirking bastards in the administration any further than I could comfortably spit a rat.
It is a good thing you are doing bringing attention to this issue. I would also like to recommend a good book on the subject recently published by author/scholar Alfred McCoy, titled A Question of Torture. I have almost completed reading it, and it is very illuminating and goes beyond what most people have probably been informed from the media and internet blogs. It looks at the entire history of CIA development of torture methods, especially psychological, which is little discussed.
thnx ewastud - please make yourself welcome at Yearly Lukery. thanks for the book rec.
don - thanx - i havent particularly been following the story. i dont have any particular suspicion that they were murdered - and if i was in their situation, i'd probably knock myself off too. that being said - presuming that suicide really is religiously shameful, it is possibly curious that they actually confided and organised to do it simultaneuously.
it appears that a triple suicide is massively 'embarrassing' for the USG - and i suspect that is the reason that they came out swinging so absurdly.
presuming that suicide really is religiously shameful, it is possibly curious that they actually confided and organised to do it simultaneuously.
Y'know, I hadn't even considered the religious angle, which in this instance is a HUGE oversight.
I have to admit I'm a little hazy on Islam's view of suicide. Does a radical jihadist's worldview allow for it if it doesn't take an enemy with them?
A commentator on JeraLyn's post points to the distinction here:
The purpose of these people is not to kill themselves. They wish to kill the enemies of Islam, and in their view the most effective way to kill as many of their enemies as possible is to do it in this particular way. Their own death is accepted as a necessary sacrifice.
Any suicide bomber whose belt blows off before he reaches the enemy, who is killed without doing damage to others will be considered an utter failure. They and many other Muslims believe that they are not rewarded for simply dying, but for dying as a means for killing. They are martyrs because they died in the fight against the infidels and enemies of Islam.
Jeralyn's post also noted the dead detainees had been identified. One was 17 when taken. A linked article at CagePrisoners made interesting reading too:
[Saudi lawyer]Al-Shammari said: “We have great doubts over the American version stating that the three detainees died as a result of suicide.” He added that they were detained under extraordinary circumstances and were under 24-hour surveillance.
A very strong point...
I don't believe a single thing that comes out of Dopey's crooked face hole, so if he says "suicide" then it's got to be something else. Faking is his forte. I wonder if it's Laura's too.
don - nice catch on the 24 hour surveillance. hmmm
kathleen - i hope they dont have sex. icky.
Faking is his forte. I wonder if it's Laura's too.
But would it have to be Laura's forte or Condi's?
maybe laura is shagging condi...
The list goes on. Shall we throw in Jeff Gannon and Peanuts too? And don't tell me that venomous viper, Ann Coulter isn't standing around, whip in hand.
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