Torturing Syntax: Spin vs Propaganda
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By Will Patching
1/28/08
The US President justifies torture by claiming he is facing a “struggle for civilization”. I say he has already lost it.
“See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda.”
— George W Bush, May 24, 2005
Almost thirty years ago I joined Britain’s Royal Air Force. My induction into the military way of life included Escape and Evasion training (similar to US forces’ SERE – Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape). In theory, by undergoing some relatively minor hardships during training, I would be better prepared in the event I was shot down over enemy territory.
“Hardships” in this case included going hungry while trying to survive off the land for a few days, having to make a tent and sleeping bag from a parachute, sleep deprivation, avoidance of capture by “hostile” forces – which all inductees failed to achieve – and then simulated interrogation techniques involving a great deal of shouting by said hostiles, but no actual physical abuse.
I have no fond recollections of this mildly traumatic training and cannot claim to have endured anything like the punishment suffered by people who have experienced the real thing. However, recent media spin brought back vivid memories of a film we aspiring officers were shown to help us understand what we may have to face if we were captured by unfriendly forces…
“We do not torture.”— George W Bush, November 11, 2005
The film was a military documentary about British and American servicemen who were captured during the Korean War and contained scenes unambiguously described as “torture.”
Interestingly, torture, as defined in this film, included scenes depicting techniques that are now apparently standard US practice for the treatment of detainees suspected of terrorist activities: extreme sleep deprivation, withholding of food and drink, regular hosing down with cold water, beatings, being forced to stand in stress positions, and of course, the most controversial technique – “waterboarding.”
Unfortunately no one will ever get to see the real life CIA videos showing patriotic US agents performing this medieval form of cruel and unusual punishment on suspected “Islamofascists.” The recordings were destroyed – rather fortuitously for the current US administration.
“I can tell you two things: one, that we abide by the law of the United States; we do not torture. And two, we will try to do everything we can to protect us within the law.”
— George W Bush, December 6, 2005
So try to picture this instead:
A man is strapped to a table, lying on his back, and a wet towel is tied over his face, covering his nose and mouth. His head is forced down and water is poured onto the cloth as he gasps for air, suffocating him and bringing him to the point of drowning. All the while questions are being bellowed into his ears and his belly slapped and punched to make his breathing more laboured. The man is in agony: his lungs are burning and he is gagging and spluttering as water chokes his windpipe.
“…this government does not torture… we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad.” — George W Bush, December 15, 2005
Such forced suffocation and inhalation of water brings on intense primal fear as the victim is convinced death is imminent. Mentally he is crushed. The process is repeated before he fully recovers.
Potential injuries include broken bones and dislocated joints due to vigorous struggling against restraints, lung damage, heart attack from extreme tachycardia, brain damage from lack of oxygen, and, if over zealously applied, death from actual drowning.
According to Bush, the CIA agents involved in this hideous practice were all “…highly-trained professionals” using “…an alternative set of procedures” which were “…safe and lawful and necessary.”
“I want to be absolutely clear with our people, and the world: The United States does not torture.”— George W Bush, September 6, 2006
Why use waterboarding? Well, if you want to torture somebody it is very effective – much more so than immersing someone’s head under water as it brings about the gag reflex almost immediately – it is, literally, terrifying. To hold out for just a few minutes would be impossible for most ordinary folk, and, in many cases, there are no physical symptoms.
However, even for those lucky enough to escape with no permanent physical damage, the psychological effects can last for years after the procedure. Panic attacks, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and aquaphobia are all likely outcomes. Some victims are unable to shower for years after the event, others cringe when it rains.
“The United States does not torture. It’s against our laws and it’s against our values. I have not authorized it and I will not authorize it.” — George W Bush, September 6, 2006
Words cannot convey the true horror of this barbaric, sub-human treatment. Not that our docile western media hounds try. Lazily, they swallow and regurgitate the US government’s approved euphemisms – “simulated drowning”, “partial drowning” and, that classic dissembler, “harsh interrogation techniques” – thereby disguising the dreadful reality with mealy-mouthed spin.
Such collusion by our media has successfully moderated public opinion, stifling our awareness of the true evil involved in this vile act. As media interest subsides their very successful attempts at spin demonstrate the power of avoiding the emotive truth conveyed by the word that describes such treatment for what it is: torture.
“As I’ve said before, the United States does not torture. It’s against our laws and it’s against our values.”— George W Bush, October 17, 2006
Spin has morphed into propaganda.
For George Bush and his government to continue to deny that waterboarding is “torture” is not just an egregious abuse of media spin. It is an outright lie. This technique was clearly labeled as torture during my military training and has been accepted as such by the US military since World War Two. The appalling actions of a rabid terrorist group on 9/11 do not change that fact.
Allowing ourselves to be lulled into a cosy debate about the legitimacy of this technique – and then pretend it is anything other than torture – is to defy modern western moral standards.
John Sifton of Human Rights Watch had this to say about waterboarding: “The person believes they are being killed, and as such, it really amounts to a mock execution, which is illegal under international law.”
“This government does not torture people. We stick to US law and our international obligations.” — George W Bush, October 5, 2007
American exceptionalism gives rise to the audacious belief that US policies and practices are superior to those promoted by other countries and encourages the US government to thumb its nose at world institutions such as the UN and the International Court of Justice: it needs to be exposed as the deluded, outdated racist myth it is.
American citizens should impeach George W Bush
and force him to face criminal charges.
***
This article is copyright Will Patching and appears at www.willpatching.com. Will is the author of The Free World Petition which can be viewed at www.petitiononline.com/Patching/petition.html
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