279 online
 
Most Popular Choices
Share on Facebook 39 Printer Friendly Page More Sharing Summarizing
OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 5/18/15

Closing the Door on Torture

By       (Page 1 of 2 pages)   1 comment

Other Words
Message Other Words

See original here

There's still time for the Obama administration to prosecute U.S. human rights abusers.

By *

After I blew the whistle on the CIA's torture program in 2007, the fallout for me was brutal. To make a long story short, I served nearly two years in federal prison and then endured a few more months of house arrest.

What happened to the torture program? Nothing.

Following years of waiting for the government to do something, I was heartened when I read in my prison cell -- in a four-day-old copy of The New York Times -- that the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence had finally released in December a heavily censored summary of its report on the CIA's brutal "enhanced interrogation" techniques.

Finally, I thought, Congress will do something about our government's shameful embrace of torture. It was big news -- for two or three days.

I thought there'd be quick action by courageous members of both parties who respect human rights and civil liberties. I thought they'd work together to ensure that our collective name would never again be sullied by torture -- that we'd respect our own laws and the international laws and treaties to which we're signatories.

In retrospect, I was naive, even after having served in the CIA for nearly 15 years and as a Senate committee staffer for several more.

Despite repeated efforts by the CIA to impede investigations into its conduct, the report confirmed that the program was even worse than most Americans had thought.

Take the case of Ammar al-Baluchi, who was arrested in Pakistan and sent to a secret CIA prison, where interrogators held his head under water, beat him repeatedly with a truncheon, and slammed his head against the wall, causing lasting head trauma.

This abuse wasn't authorized by the Justice Department. So why weren't the perpetrators charged with a crime?

Perhaps worst of all, CIA officers tortured as many as 26 people who were probably innocent of any ties to terrorism.

Sadly, the report's release didn't lead to any action by the White House or the Justice Department. The architects of the program haven't been held accountable. Nor have those who clearly violated the law by torturing prisoners without any legal justifications. Why should the government have locked me up for telling the truth and given them full impunity?

But there's still time for President Barack Obama to order the Justice Department to prosecute these perpetrators of torture. And there's a clear precedent in how the government has confronted similar actions in the past.

In 1968, for example, The Washington Post published a photo of a U.S. soldier waterboarding a North Vietnamese prisoner. The Defense Department investigated the incident, court-martialed the soldier, and convicted him of torture.

Why should the Senate's torture report elicit less response than a photograph? It was wrong in 1968 to commit torture. It's still wrong -- and prosecutable -- in 2015.

Next Page  1  |  2

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).

Must Read 1   Well Said 1   Supported 1  
Rate It | View Ratings

Other Words Social Media Pages: Facebook page url on login Profile not filled in       Twitter page url on login Profile not filled in       Linkedin page url on login Profile not filled in       Instagram page url on login Profile not filled in

William A. Collins, a former mayor of Norwalk, Connecticut, founded Minuteman Media in 1998. In 2010, the Institute for Policy Studies took over its management and Minuteman Media was renamed OtherWords. OtherWords distributes commentary and (more...)
 
Go To Commenting
The views expressed herein are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
Writers Guidelines

 
Contact AuthorContact Author Contact EditorContact Editor Author PageView Authors' Articles
Support OpEdNews

OpEdNews depends upon can't survive without your help.

If you value this article and the work of OpEdNews, please either Donate or Purchase a premium membership.

STAY IN THE KNOW
If you've enjoyed this, sign up for our daily or weekly newsletter to get lots of great progressive content.
Daily Weekly     OpEd News Newsletter

Name
Email
   (Opens new browser window)
 

Most Popular Articles by this Author:     (View All Most Popular Articles by this Author)

The Latest Victim in the War on Whistleblowers

Banning Assault Weapons Makes More Sense than Arming Teachers

Romney's Borking Strategy

Naomi Klein wants everyone to join forces and just pull the plug on oil, gas, and coal

Shameless Tax Loopholes

The Fracking Rush Hits a Pothole

To View Comments or Join the Conversation:

Tell A Friend