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The US’s expanding empire of prisons and torture<br>
chambers<br><br>
12 September 2005. A World to Win News Service. <br><br>
Four years after the US launched a global rampage in<br>
supposed retaliation for the 9/11 attacks, its global<br>
empire of prison camps and torture chambers continues<br>
to swell.<br><br>
The best known is Guantánamo, Cuba, where the US<br>
military says it is now holding about 520 men, most<br>
seized shortly after the US invasion of Afghanistan in<br>
October 2001. They have been imprisoned without<br>
charges for what is now going on four years. According<br>
to lawyers in New York and London, since last 8 August<br>
210 prisoners have been on what they vow will be a<br>
hunger strike to the death. They are demanding that<br>
they either be charged with a crime or released, and,<br>
in the meantime, that they be treated according to the<br>
Geneva Conventions governing prisoners of war,<br>
including an end to torture and punitive conditions.<br><br>
Although about 70 people have been released from<br>
Guantánamo over the last year, construction is now<br>
underway on a sixth camp in the prison complex,<br>
designed for “long-term detention”.<br><br>
In Afghanistan itself, the US is still keeping 350<br>
prisoners at its Bagram airport military base near<br>
Kabul. Rather than shutting this jail down, American<br>
authorities have said they may expand it so that they<br>
can send prisoners there from Guantánamo. If these<br>
facilities were rebranded as Afghani supposedly<br>
under the authority of the government the US installed<br>
in Afghanistan lawyers would no longer be able to<br>
file suit in American courts. The Pentagon has<br>
particularly objected to judicial orders that<br>
prisoners be allowed contact with attorneys. Similar<br>
arrangements to turn over legal responsibility for<br>
prisoners now at Guantánamo are under negotiation with<br>
Saudi Arabia and Yemen.<br><br>
Last June a 2,000-page secret US Army document on an<br>
investigation of torture at Bagram was leaked to the<br>
media. The resulting uproar forced even the US’s<br>
Afghanistan president Hamid Karzai to mouth criticisms<br>
of his masters, but the US defied UN calls to let<br>
Afghanistan’s human rights commission have access to<br>
the base. The US Army did, however, feel obliged to<br>
try four GIs for the deaths of two Afghans whose<br>
murder was described in terrible detail in that<br>
report. American soldiers had grabbed a young taxi<br>
driver known as Dilawar in December 2002. They hung<br>
him from the ceiling with wrist shackles and beat him<br>
over four days. More than a hundred times, they<br>
applied special, “scientific” blows to the sides of<br>
his knees with metal rods to cause maximum pain while<br>
leaving no external marks. This technique is similar<br>
to ones used at Guantánamo and perhaps developed<br>
there. The secret report mentioned that interrogators<br>
believed Dilawar never really had any information to<br>
give them. The base coroner wrote that his knees had<br>
been “pulpified”, as if he had been run over by a<br>
heavy vehicle.<br><br>
Two soldiers tried for killing Dilawar and another man<br>
were convicted but given no jail time. In late August,<br>
two more were given a two and three-month sentence,<br>
respectively.<br><br>
The US prison at Abu Ghraib, infamous for the torture<br>
photos that shocked the world in April 2004, has also<br>
been expanded. It now holds 4,000 people. Currently<br>
the US is holding nearly 11,000 captives in Iraq,<br>
double the number of a year ago, in three military<br>
prisons, with a new one under construction. Recently<br>
the US government announced plans to expand the<br>
capacity of its prisons in Iraq to 16,000.<br><br>
At the same time, the number of people being held in<br>
the prison system run by the Iraqi puppet government<br>
is exploding. An article in the British Observer (3<br>
July 2005) describes what happens on the seventh floor<br>
of the Ministry of the Interior: “Hanging by the arms<br>
in cuffs, scorching of the body with something like an<br>
iron and knee-capping [using an electric drill to make<br>
holes in the knees] are claimed to be increasingly<br>
prevalent in the new Iraq. Now evidence is emerging<br>
that appears to substantiate those claims. Not only<br>
Iraqis make the allegations. International officials<br>
describe the methods in disgusted but hushed tones...”<br><br>
<br>
The newspaper points out, “British and US police and<br>
military officials act as advisers to Iraq's security<br>
forces. Foreign troops support Iraqi policing<br>
missions. What is extraordinary is that despite the<br>
increasingly widespread evidence of torture,<br>
governments have remained silent. It is all the more<br>
extraordinary on the British side, as embassy<br>
officials have been briefed by senior Iraqi officials<br>
over the allegations on a number of occasions, and<br>
individual cases of abuse have been raised with<br>
British diplomats.”<br>
<br>
Actually, this isn’t surprising at all since these<br>
things are being carried out under the authority, and<br>
for the benefit, of the US/UK-led occupation. The Wolf<br>
Brigade, an “Iraqi government” security force the<br>
Observer cited as one of the most vicious, made up<br>
largely of former members of Saddam’s secret police<br>
and Republican Guard, works under US Special Forces<br>
officer James Steele, whose background includes<br>
training American-backed death squads in El Salvador<br>
during the 1980s, according to Counterpunch (10/12<br>
June 2005).<br><br>
There are other such centres in official buildings in<br>
the capital and other cities. Alongside them exists a<br>
chain of unofficial dungeons and killing rooms run by<br>
the Shia and Kurdish parties allied with the US.<br>
Sources such as the Washington Post’s Anthony Shadid<br>
(15 June and 21 August) report that US-seized captives<br>
are routinely delivered to these facilities for<br>
disposal.<br><br>
Many of those being held in the US’s worldwide network<br>
of military prisons are children. US investigative<br>
journalist Seymour Hersh wrote in the UK Guardian that<br>
a memo addressed to Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld<br>
shortly after the 2001 invasion noted “800-900<br>
Pakistani boys 13-15 years of age in custody”. In<br>
Iraq, sociology professor Arlie Hochschild wrote in<br>
The New York Times (29 June), “The International<br>
Committee of the Red Cross reported registering 107<br>
detainees under 18 during visits to six prisons<br>
controlled by coalition troops. Some detainees were as<br>
young as 8. Since that time, Human Rights Watch<br>
reports that the number has risen.” Some Guantánamo<br>
prisoners it’s not clear exactly how many were<br>
captured at the age of 15, 14 or even younger, and the<br>
US says that about half a dozen are still under 16.<br><br>
At Abu Ghraib, Hochschild cites cases of children as<br>
young as 14 being tortured by setting dogs to bite<br>
them. Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, formerly in<br>
charge of that prison, told military investigators<br>
“about visiting a weeping 11-year-old detainee in the<br>
prison's notorious Cellblock 1B, which housed<br>
prisoners designated high risk. ‘He told me he was<br>
almost 12,’ General Karpinski recalled, and that ‘he<br>
really wanted to see his mother, could he please call<br>
his mother.’ Children like this 11 year old held at<br>
Abu Ghraib have been denied the right to see their<br>
parents, a lawyer, or anyone else. They were not told<br>
why they were detained, let alone for how long.”<br><br>
Karpinski was the only officer to even so much as lose<br>
their job because of the torture recorded in soldiers’<br>
photos at Abu Ghraib not for her responsibility in<br>
the crimes committed there, but for failing to defend<br>
them to the media. Testimony in the trials of several<br>
soldiers given prison terms last June in relation to<br>
the scandal brought out that the “interrogation”<br>
techniques used there were developed at Guantánamo and<br>
brought to Iraq first by a special training team and<br>
then by the head of the Cuban prison himself, Major<br>
General Geoffrey Miller, who was put in charge of<br>
prisoners in Iraq and, after the military<br>
investigation of Abu Ghraib, given a promotion.<br><br>
The fact that Guantánamo remains the flagship and<br>
research and development laboratory for the US’s<br>
global torture network gives the hunger strike there<br>
even more significance.<br><br>
Prisoner statements written at the start of the<br>
current hunger strike were recently released by<br>
British civil rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who<br>
represents 40 detainees. Binyan Mohammed, a former<br>
London schoolboy, wrote, “I do not plan to stop until<br>
either I die or we are respected. People will<br>
definitely die.” He compared their action to the<br>
hunger strike at Maze prison in the UK led by Bobby<br>
Sands in 1981, when eight accused Irish Republican<br>
Army members died in a fast to protest their<br>
internment without trial. “He had the courage of his<br>
convictions and he starved himself to death. Nobody<br>
should believe that my brothers here have less<br>
courage.”<br><br>
Apparently there have been quite a few protests at<br>
Guantánamo, although for the first few years the<br>
prisoners were so completely isolated that little word<br>
got out. The New York-based Center for Constitutional<br>
Rights, which represents many prisoners there,<br>
documents these actions in their recent pamphlet The<br>
Guantánamo Prisoner Hunger Strikes and Protest:<br>
February 2002 August 2005
(<a href="http://www.ccr-ny.org/" eudora="autourl">www.ccr-ny.org</a>). A
hunger<br>
strike that began in June called for better access to<br>
books, bottled water (prisoners say they are<br>
deliberately given repulsive drinking water), medical<br>
care, mail contact with their families and other basic<br>
human needs. Prisoners also demanded that they all be<br>
treated equally. Currently, the small number of<br>
prisoners who cooperate with interrogators are housed<br>
in a special unit, camp four, with relatively better<br>
conditions and privileges. This is the unit visiting<br>
US Congressmen were taken to see (although even they<br>
were forbidden to talk to prisoners). The harshest<br>
unit is the newest, camp five, with about 100 inmates,<br>
who haven’t been told why they were sent there. That<br>
protest ended 28 July when the authorities promised to<br>
meet at least some of the detainees’ demands. The<br>
military would “bring the prison into compliance with<br>
the Geneva Conventions. They said this had been<br>
approved by Donald Rumsfeld himself in Washington,<br>
DC,” explained the British prisoner Mohammed.<br><br>
But apparently these promises were a trick. In August,<br>
a Tunisian prisoner was severely beaten with a metal<br>
chair during interrogation. A Kuwaiti was violently<br>
assaulted by the military’s “Extreme Reaction Force”<br>
when he refused to return to interrogation after being<br>
sexually abused. This triggered a second hunger<br>
strike. In retaliation, the Prisoners Council<br>
representative was put in isolation. Contact with<br>
lawyers was forbidden, contrary to a court order. On<br>
12 September, the US Defence Department announced that<br>
128 prisoners were “fasting” and 18 had been<br>
hospitalised for force-feeding. The government<br>
declined to give out a list of hunger strikers or<br>
notify their families. Attorneys warn that the purpose<br>
of hiding the real number of people involved and their<br>
names like the US government’s continuing refusal to<br>
make known the exact number and identity of Guantánamo<br>
prisoners overall may be to cover up deaths. The US<br>
is still refusing to allow UN officials to inspect the<br>
prison complex.<br><br>
In addition to these prisons, there is also reason to<br>
believe that the US has secret detention centres<br>
located, among other places, on American naval ships<br>
in the Indian Ocean, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture<br>
Manfred Nowak told BBC 28 June, adding his weight to a<br>
regularly repeated charge. He said that the UN has<br>
been demanding that the US provide a comprehensive<br>
list of detention centres for over a year in vain.<br>
<br>
International law and institutions clearly cannot stop<br>
what the US is doing, and American law as well is not<br>
allowed to be an obstacle. In the US, the Democratic<br>
Party has refused to make an issue of the torture<br>
network. A few months ago, during an upsurge of<br>
criticism of Guantánamo, ex-president Bill Clinton put<br>
forward the slogan “Clean it up or shut it down” as<br>
if a “clean” concentration camp is acceptable. This<br>
one seems as “scientifically” administered as any Nazi<br>
could wish, with doctors and other professionals<br>
intimately involved in developing torture techniques<br>
ranging from psychological manoeuvres to the use of<br>
thorax pressure points to cause extreme pain and<br>
unconsciousness with no traces. After a few days,<br>
Clinton and his party just dropped the whole thing.<br><br>
Further, while it’s not surprising that the UK and the<br>
other “coalition” members go along with Guantánamo and<br>
the other military camps, it seems that so far, at<br>
least, no government is willing to go against the US<br>
on this.<br><br>
People who find these outrages intolerable will either<br>
have to learn to live with them, or take mass action<br>
themselves to end this situation and all that lies<br>
behind it.<br><br>
<br>
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