Hilzoy has linked to a report by Physicians for Human Rights about the health effects of U.S. sanctioned torture on prisoners are Guantanamo, Abu Ghraib, and other prisons operated with our governments knowledge and consent. The report goes into deep detail for 11 former prisoners. Hilzoy has written out her reaction, which is worth reading, as always.
I don’t know much about the group, nor have I had time to read more than the executive summary. However, the report’s preface is by Maj. General Antonio Taguba (Ret.), who led the official Army investigation into these abuses back in 2004. His report was a respectable attempt to hold the Army accountable, at least as much as an internally requested report could be expected to be. Here are some of his words in the preface:
The profiles of these eleven former detainees, none of whom were ever charged with a crime or told why they were detained, are tragic and brutal rebuttals to those who claim that torture is ever justified. Through the experiences of these men in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay, we can see the full-scope of the damage this illegal and unsound policy has inflicted —both on America’s institutions and our nation’s founding values, which the military, intelligence services, and our justice system are duty-bound to defend.
…
After years of disclosures by government investigations, media accounts, and reports from human rights organizations, there is no longer any doubt as to whether the current administration has committed war
crimes. The only question that remains to be answered is whether those who ordered the use of torture will be held to account.…
But most of all, these men deserve justice as required under the tenets of international law and the United States Constitution.
And so do the American people.
Read through these stories. This torture was carried out in our name, in yours, mine, and under the flag of our great nation. In our fear and our nation’s inability to stand by our principles, we destroyed the lives of at these 11 people and many many more.
Hilzoy says it best:
I never thought a report on things that were done in my name would include sentences like: “Examination of the peri-anal area showed signs of rectal tearing that are highly consistent with his report of having been sodomized with a broomstick.” I never thought my country would fall this low.
Nor did I. We should be embarrassed that the President isn’t on trial for this, and that those that sanctioned and crafted the legal framework for this policy aren’t, at the very least, being compelled to testify and acknowledge what they did to Congress and the American people.