OOPS, WE ACCIDENTALLY TORTURED PEOPLE UNTIL THEY DIED
OH AND WE DON'T REALLY KNOW IF THEY EVER DID ANYTHING WRONG

From the Washington Post ...

Soldiers' 'Wish Lists' Of Detainee Tactics Cited

By Josh White
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, April 19, 2005; Page A16

Army intelligence officials in Iraq developed and circulated "wish lists" of harsh interrogation techniques they hoped to use on detainees in August 2003, including tactics such as low-voltage electrocution, blows with phone books and using dogs and snakes -- suggestions that some soldiers believed spawned abuse and illegal interrogations.

The discussions, which took place in e-mail messages between interrogators and Army officials in Baghdad, were used in part to develop the interrogation rules of engagement approved by Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, then commander of U.S. troops in Iraq. Two specific cases of abuse in Iraq occurred soon after.

Army investigative documents released yesterday, as well as court records and files, suggest that the tactics were used on two detainees: One died during an interrogation in November 2003 while stuffed into a sleeping bag, and another was badly beaten by inexperienced interrogators using a police baton in September 2003. The documents indicate confusion over what tactics were legal in Iraq, a belief that most detainees were not covered by Geneva Conventions protections and alleged abuse by interrogators who had tacit approval to "turn it up a notch."

Confusion over what tactics are legal? How about a basic sense of human rights and respect for fairness and justice? Does the military teach any of that? Certainly not. The Army has nothing to do with human rights. They teach soldiers to kill and help them get over their own fears of being killed, not in the name of human rights but in the name of U.S. economic and political hegemony.

Our criminal courts in the U.S. don't let murderers off the hook because they were confused about the law. I suppose when the victims are foreigners, people of color, and accused of doing something bad by the military, confusion is understandable and murder is excusable. Tonight I will pray to the new pope that the U.S. military never accuses me of anything.

Coming soon . . . fallout from my column.