McClatchy is out with part two of its series on US abuses of prisoners, this time focusing on events at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, incidents which have been overshadowed by Guantanamo, but which McClatchy says may have been worse.
Two prisoners at Bagram were beaten to death. One of them suffered ... well ...
I played soccer somewhat seriously for more than 25 years before retiring from the game six or seven years ago. I have had multiple surgeries to both ankles and knees. Dozens of stitches to them. My shins have been smacked so often I have lost all feeling in them - I can (and have) had gashes to the bone there and had no idea until someone pointed out I was bleeding. I have at least some small idea of of the type of beating one's legs can take.
Nothing like this though ...
According to the article detainee Dilawar died at Bagram on Dec. 10 2002. The army medical examiner reported he had been repeatedly struck on his leg to the point the tissues in it were "falling apart" and had "basically been pulpified".
Of course, we don't torture prisoners. The administration says so.
The paragraph toward the end of the story has this boiler-plate statement from the Pentagon:
"The Department of Defense policy is clear — we treat all detainees humanely. The United States operates safe, humane and professional detention operations for unlawful enemy combatants at war with this country."
I'll laugh ... after I am done vomiting.
Politics, mostly national, some AZ, and whatever else hits my fancy.
About Me
- Sirocco
- I work as a software researcher. My political views are on the liberal side of the fence. Like many people, I consider myself an expert on all subjects, but in reality I am adequate in some, abysmal in most.
2 comments:
I can't remember where I first read about Dilawar, the young taxi driver and father who was beaten to death by American soldiers in the prison at Bagram. It has been a few years.
The story has haunted me ever since. I was not surprised that it became the subject of a documentary, "Taxi to the Darkside," but I'm not sure I will be able to watch it even though it won an Academy Award.
Once again, we learn about what was done in our name, but much too late to do anything for people like Dilawar who undeservedly die horrible and tragic deaths.
Even with everything we know now, we still have Bush/Cheney refusing to acknowledge that anything they have done is wrong, and anyone who disagrees with that is "slandering America."
What have we become?
I knew he had died of the beatings he suffered in Bagram, but for whatever reasons I was not aware of the full, gory details.
Then to simply spew boiler plate when called on it ... it's disgusting.
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