Freedom on the March!

What George W. Bush said:

"As a matter of policy, the United States Armed Forces shall continue to treat detainees humanely and, to the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity, in a manner consistent with the principles of Geneva."

What happened as a consequence:

"According to ICRC [the Red Cross], one prisoner 'alleged that he had been hooded and cuffed with flexicuffs, threatened to be tortured and killed, urinated on, kicked in the head, lower back and groin, force-fed a baseball which was tied in his mouth using a scarf and deprived of sleep for four consecutive days. . . . When he said he would complain to the ICRC he was allegedly beaten more. An ICRC medical examination revealed hematoma in the lower back, blood in urine, sensory loss in the right hand due to tight handcuffing with flexicuffs, and a broken rib.'"

In a detainee's own words: "They threw pepper on my face and the beating started. This went on for half and hour. And then he started beating me with a chair until the chair was broken. After that they started choking me. At that time I thought I was going to die, but it's a miracle I lived. And then they started beating me again. They concentrated on beating me in the heart until they got tired from beating me. They took a little break and then they started kicking me very hard with their feet until I passed out."

Another. "They stripped me naked, they asked me 'Do you pray to Allah?' I said 'Yes.' They said 'Fuck you ' and 'Fuck him.'. . . Someone else asked me, 'Do you believe in anything?' I said to him, 'I believe in Allah.' So he said, 'But I believe in torture and I will torture you.'"

As Andrew Sullivan notes, "These are not allegations made by antiwar journalists. They are incidents reported within the confines of the United States government" (NYTimes, 13 Jan 04).

Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free; the wretched refuse of your teeming shores . . . and I will torture the hell out of them.