Harbury, Jennifer K. Truth, Torture and the American Way: The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture.Harbury, Jennifer K. Truth, Torture and the American Way The American way of life is an expression that refers to the "life style" of people living in the United States of America. It is an example of a behavioral modality, developed from the 17th century until today. : The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture. Boston. Beacon Press This article or section needs sources or references that appear in reliable, third-party publications. Alone, primary sources and sources affiliated with the subject of this article are not sufficient for an accurate encyclopedia article. . 2005. Paper $14.00. Harbury provides historical evidence of CIA's involvement in torture tactics since the 1970s. "Truth Torture and the American Way" successfully documents the connection between the torture in Vietnam and Latin America, and now moving to not just Abu Ghraib, but to Guantanamo. By tracing back the grave violations of both international and American laws exemplified by the notorious torture in Abu Ghraib to earlier American adventures in Vietnam and later in Latin America, it brilliantly deconstructs the "a few bad apples" argument. Harbury documents the similarity in the extraordinary torture techniques, like stress and duress Stress and duress is a term which has been used by the United States to describe interrogation techniques authorised for use by United States Armed Forces upon detainees who are determined to be a threat the United States. , the water pit, the water boarding, the practice of rendition, that is, the abduction Abduction Balfour, David expecting inheritance, kidnapped by uncle. [Br. Lit.: Kidnapped] Bertram, Henry kidnapped at age five; taken from Scotland. [Br. Lit. of "suspects" by the American Administration and turning them over to countries where torture is officially tolerated. Not only that a number of the torture techniques were developed in Vietnam, then brought to Central and Latin America and eventually to Iraq by U.S. intelligence forces (the iconic photograph of the hooded Iraqi prisoner, with wires standing on the box at Abu Ghraib is known in intelligence circles as the Vietnam position), but also, as Harbury indicates, a torture tradition evolved and has been institutionalized in·sti·tu·tion·al·ize tr.v. in·sti·tu·tion·al·ized, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·ing, in·sti·tu·tion·al·iz·es 1. a. To make into, treat as, or give the character of an institution to. b. (the infamous School of the Americas) and reinforced unlawfully by a parallel system of authorization (Attorney General Gonzales declaring obsolete the Geneva Geneva, canton and city, Switzerland Geneva (jənē`və), Fr. Genève, canton (1990 pop. 373,019), 109 sq mi (282 sq km), SW Switzerland, surrounding the southwest tip of the Lake of Geneva. Agreement regarding prisoners of war prisoners of war, in international law, persons captured by a belligerent while fighting in the military. International law includes rules on the treatment of prisoners of war but extends protection only to combatants. ) that bypasses the law and tolerates torture. Harbury's account on torture in Abu Ghraib stops short of uncovering its systemic origin. Nonetheless, Truth, Torture and the American Way is well documented with twenty cases and a variety of torture techniques, highly informative in its historical approach, and has the virtue of deconstructing an otherwise accepted myth that survives on criminalizing few scapegoats. |
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