Over the weekend, I heard that Charles Graner, the convicted ringleader of the Abu Grahib prisoner abuse scandal was released from prison. This week, we are going to discuss the mutually exploitative relationship between the media and the government, so I thought this post would fit right in.
You may remember back in 2006, when Charles Graner and six other members of the 372nd Military Police Company were charged with abusing detainees of the Abu Grahib prison in
Charles Graner was convicted of stacking naked prisoners into a pyramid, knocking one prisoner unconscious and ordering prisoners to masturbate while being filmed. His defense was that he was ordered by military intelligence to “soften up” the prisoners for interrogation. He served 6 ½ years of a 10 year sentence, and will remain on supervised probation until the end of 2014.
Many around the world saw these photos as evidence that the
Actions such as the ones mentioned, can be called nothing but torture. I understanding the idea behind hurting a person until they leak information in return for mercy. I get the concept. It's torture. Whether it is warranted or not is another story. I don't agree with killing people for information. There are other more humane ways of getting through to people. I agree with the way Garner treated the Iraq prisoners. He went too far but then where do you draw the line?
ReplyDeleteThere have been psychological studies done about the relationship of power between guards and prisoners. Guards with unlimited control, and prisoners with little to no rights will always fall into a situation like this one. Was it torture, yes I believe it was. Was it justified? That I can't say. One of the first, fundamental rules of propaganda, is to demoralize your enemy. These guards took it much farther than that it seems.
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I think it was a bunch of people in a prison that had to keep guard over some very dangerous people and some people who might or might not have been guilty. The guards had to live in the same scenery as the prisoners on a day to day basis and I'm sure the conditions where poor for human standards. Like Nick said,"There have been psychological studies done about the relationship of power between guards and prisoners. Guards with unlimited control, and prisoners with little to no rights will always fall into a situation like this one." Everyone is capable of doing wrong, that capability of doing wrong probably grows with the growth of power. I don't see how stacking 6 dudes naked in a muddy pyramid is doing anything to keep Americans any safer then they already are.
ReplyDeleteThe actions that were taken in that prison were undoubtedly torture. It's understandable to hurt someone until they leak the information that you want/need but like it was mentioned previously, I can't say whether it was justified or not.
ReplyDeleteWha...what? People were...what?!....What?!! I honestly never heard of any of this...this is frightening.....
ReplyDelete...well, there goes my childlike innocence. I think I'll just go start sleeping in a gutter, selling my body on the street to get by. Which do you think will go for more, a kidney or a leg?
--Jess "Now Tainted Forever" Curtis
Torture? I'm not so sure. Unwarrented humiliation, yes. Things like this are not done to get information, and when they are you can't trust the information gained. Guantanamo (sp?) proved that information gained under torture is often false. The torturees know that it will only stop when they speak, so they will often say something/anything to make it stop.
ReplyDeleteBut Abu Grahib was simply a matter of young pissed off soldiers looking for some payback. I know just the type that they were... It was my freshman year at Purdue when 9/11 happened, and that day the army recruiting stations is West Lafayette were packed with young undisciplined hotheads that wanted nothing more than to hurt 'towelheads' they didn't care about the actual military service or anything else, and Abu Grahib was a group of them that were put together with power where they could enact any form of humiliation and degradation that they could think of.
Unfortunately, this situation is not new, nor surprising to me. I feel like with past instances of military men who have taken part of this torture almost uses it as a tradition. They know the media will be all over it if it were to leak, and they know their reputation will be scarred forever. I couldn't agree more that it's a cruel, unnecessary method of humiliation so traumatizing that it is torture. It's too bad, but unfortunately this will not be the last time this happens.
ReplyDeleteI think it definitely is torture...and I believe in torturing a prisoner to get information..in that way?? No. There are other ways to get what u need to kno out of people. I dnt think those actions should have been the way to go. And under any circumstances people should not have been killed. That's ridiculous.........Michael Green
ReplyDeleteIt's torture, no question. It made me mad when I first heard about it. I was still in the military then and it was one of the things that made me want to get out. This is the face of the military now, torturous thugs. Anyways, there is no excuse for torture. Especially not for this illusion of safety that Americans love.
ReplyDeleteI believe it's torture. When they use torture, they could get the wrong answer so they would stop torturing them. What if they don't know anything about what's going on? It's definitely not the right way. Torturing doesn't solve anything.
ReplyDeleteHands down its torture. Had this of happened to a US soldier, we would be in arms over these repugnant acts. I am not shocked at the idea of torture, because it would be naive of me to believe otherwise. But to have prisoners masturbate while being filmed? That is repulsive, and beyond twisted. That goes past torture into a whole other realm of demented actions. The definition of torture is this, "the act of inflicting excruciating pain, as punishment or revenge, as a means of getting a confession or information, or for sheer cruelty." In my opinion, Charles Graner had nothing else on his mind other than some kind of childish revenge or sheer cruelty. And if we didn't have laws in this country about cruel and unusual punishment, I should think we'd have done the same things to him and his cronies (minus the masturbation part, because thats disgusting.)
ReplyDeleteThat is really weird and awkward I have never heard of this before I read the post. That is unusual punishment I think and who in the world would come up with those idea's in the first place! Personally I think the ringleader actually wanted that to happen, because its some kind of turn on to him I don't know. Yes, I think its torture.
ReplyDeleteI think its torture. Its all about empowerment and just sicking because they where getting a thrill out of doing that to another human being. I believe in treat other the way you would want to be treated. I don't care what the person has done. Torture does not solve anything and never will no matter what people think. Its just one big cycle of pay back that never ends.
ReplyDeleteTorture is torture, no matter where or how you look at it. It is something that has remained behind closed doors for a reason forever. But I believe that there is a limit to how much torture is appropriate, and in this case it went to far. Unfortunately it is apart of our human nature to get that way, whether we, as reasonable people want to believe it or not.
ReplyDeleteDo you think that any kind of torture can keep American Safe??!?!
ReplyDeleteTorture is torture and I think violence feeds more violence. We all humans, and I don't feel it is necessary to torture any one to get information. Also, I feel it is against of human rights.
OH MY GOSH!!!!!, This is such a good way to show what America, is really about!. Seriously torture and humiliation, degrading , and abusing, are no way to treat a human being in any aspect. I dont condone in any disrespect on a human's life.
ReplyDeleteHow can I call myself a American, or how can i support our troops when we feel its needed to torture to get information. really???!!!! This is beyond pathetic, it shows how much of cowards we are. We can't take in other ways to get information?
This is not acceptable nor should it be tolerated, just the same if they were to do it to us... These Army men and women, are leading a bad example for this country by using the pathetic technique to fish for information. He should of gotten life!!!!!!!
I am so not happy with this.
Having seved in the conflict, I can say I am appaled by human torture. It demoralizes our own armed forces because the majority don't believe in it. I personally don't believe in what was being done.
ReplyDeleteI can only say this much... Was it taken too far? Yes and no. What I love about the media is how they want to show what only they want to show. What they neglected to show was the blood splattered brains on the ground of your fellow americans. Of the cruel and way more inhumane torture that american soldiers and civilians alike went through over there. Am I disgusted with what these pictures represent and show? Absolutely... but I am that much more forever scared by the acts and atrocities commited to my fellow people by the people we had to interogate to get to the truth.
I think these were torture. There are other ways that you can gather info from people than what was done. But how much of it is true, and how much of it is not. The media always puts there own twist on things, but from the photos that are here it definitely torture.
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