Oh. Hey! Look Who Discovered the “T-Word”
The torture of Iraqi detainees at a secret prison in Baghdad was far more systematic and brutal than initially reported, Human Rights Watch reported on Tuesday.
The Washington Post:
Adding to the political tension, Human Rights Watch released a report late Tuesday saying that members of a military unit under the command of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, a Shiite, systemically tortured and sexually abused hundreds of Sunni Arab prisoners.
Iraqi men held for months at a secret prison outside Baghdad were systematically tortured and forced to sign confession statements that in at least some cases they were forbidden to read, according to a new report by a human rights group released Wednesday.
When OTHER people do it, HRW is a legitimate, credible source, and it is not “allegations of torture” or “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
Funny, that. In a really sad way.
*** Update ***
We’ll see how much the Iraqi government has been paying attention they call this the work of a few bad apples doing some frat boy pranks and then publish the menu at the prison.
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[…] America! By Eric Martin, on April 29th, 2010 John Cole spotted something interesting in the media’s coverage of recent revelations of widespread torture in Iraqi […]
Nothin personal, just bidness.
So disgustingly predictable.
Well fuck me dead. The dude reads American right wing blogs. Who’d a thunk that.
Aw, shoot, I was hoping for a thread on trannies. Sigh. Another thread on the Techniques Formerly Know as Enhancement Interrogation. That’s like so totally 2006.
Iraq ain’t Kansas. On the other hand maybe it is.
If it was good enough for Saddam, it’s good enough for our ally. Next up, gassin some Kurds.
@The Grand Panjandrum:
A Balloon Juice thread on trannies would be so fucking epic that it would make the hilarious Batman vs. Boba Fett derail from earlier today seem positively boring in comparison. I say bring it on!!
I’m dyin for john’s post on the republicans backing down.
3 days? Pussies.
edit: I missed the derail but the goddamn batman would utterly annihilate boba fett.
The interrogation technique that dare not speak its name.
I would say they have been paying very acute attention to the way the game is played.
Hell, I read a headline at Raw Story that claimed Iraqi leaders swear those guys tortured themselves to make the U.S. and their Iraqi lackeys look bad.
@Midnight Marauder:
You mean that the Iraqis are saying exactly what we DFH’s said that countries caught torturing people would say from now on (ie that the US doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to lecturing other countries about torture)?
Well, knock me over with a feather. Hoocoodanode?
Usually I find the NYT Public Editor pretty reasonable, but the piece he did on the “T” word was hackery of the worst kind.
Lemon chicken on that menu, right? Hell, those boys are eatin’ better then the soldiers that they’re tryin’ to kill. An’ better than mah wife makes most nights, heh heh.
Oh, what’s that you say? They were Iraqis pulling some fraternity prank…er, I meant torturing other Iraqis? This is a disgrace, and the people that perpetuated these atrocities must be made to answer! Their blood and tears cry out for vengeance!
/neocon
i wonder if the next time the gop wants to impress some big donors they take them to a vital intelligence gathering and inhanced interrogation club.
The NYT and NPR are nothing but a bunch of cowardly corporatists and that aint goin to improve. They know where their bread (pay checks) are buttered. Are you listening Hoyt? Torture is torture no matter who does it.
I’ve got a lot of smart friends. I’ve asked them all the question that I’m about to ask of the Balloon-Juice crowd because over time I’ve grown to enjoy your company and respect your feedback.
Can anyone tell me the difference between rape and torture? I don’t ask this lightly because I really believe that they are virtually the same and would like someone to prove me wrong so that the people in my life who have good words about torture can say they don’t like/condone rape.
@Richard S:
In my view, rape is a subset of torture (especially when it’s used to terrorize a population during a war). Trying to figure out the difference is like trying to figure out the difference between your car and its engine.
(Okay, that’s not a great metaphor, but I can’t think of any subsets right now, damn it.)
@Richard S: As far as I am concerned, rape is a form of torture.
@Richard S:
See the torture statute definition of torture.
A normal person would count rape as “severe physical or mental pain or suffering”. A John Yoo, on the other hand, would equivocate like the piece of shit he is.
I saw an article today that said the Iraqi PM was claiming that their prisoners were torturing themselves…
sounds like they’ve taken lessons from our Republican party…
Thank You! As I said this is a company/forum which I like and respect. I’ll be a little less shy to use the homologue since I’m no longer thinking it’s an analogue.
Don’t forget Obama’s lessons for the Iraqis: “Look Forward”, “State Secrets” and “Military Courts”.
[…] America! By Eric Martin, on April 29th, 2010 John Cole spotted something interesting in the media’s coverage of recent revelations of widespread torture in Iraqi […]
@matt:
Only if he’s prepared
@Richard S:
Whatever the dictionary says.
Why would it be incumbent upon anyone to prove you wrong about something you believe? If you have reason to think that these two discreet concepts are in fact “virtually the same” then tell us what that reason is.
Words should mean what they mean, not shift meaning in order to help you win an argument.
Just wanted to let you know that the article is unreadable in IE6.