September 23, 2006

Torture's Long Shadow -- A Soviet Dissident's Advice to the US One nasty morning Comrade Stalin discovered that his favorite pipe was missing. Naturally, he called in his henchman, Lavrenti Beria, and instructed him to find the pipe. A few hours later, Stalin found it in his desk and called off the search. "But, Comrade Stalin," stammered Beria, "five suspects have already confessed to stealing it."

Long gone are the days when a torturer needed the nasty-looking tools displayed in the Tower of London. A simple prison bed is deadly if you remove the mattress and force a prisoner to sleep on the iron frame night after night after night. Or how about the "Chekist's handshake" so widely practiced under Stalin -- a firm squeeze of the victim's palm with a simple pencil inserted between his fingers? Very convenient, very simple. And how would you define leaving 2,000 inmates of a labor camp without dental service for months on end? Is it "cruel, inhumane or degrading" (CID) [acceptable according to President Cheney] not to treat an excruciatingly painful toothache, or is it torture?

posted by MonkeyFlitter 18 years ago
  • Just out of curiosity, when did Cheney say that CID was A-okay? Was this a recent comment in defense of the current debate, or did he state this a while ago? And is it a case of him supposedly authorizing this sort of treatment? Or did he actually make the above statement to the press?
  • Good first post Monkey! Very interesting read.
  • The thing is, Nal, that you guys are weasel-wording around, with your extraordinary rendition, and your "alternative interrogation techniques". Why are these weasel words being used? Because you now have gulags, and you torture, but you don't have the guts to say so. It sickens me to read "Americans are debating alternative interrogation methods" when the actuality is that you're arguing about how badly you can hurt captives without trial or charge. If there ever was a free world, you guys have left it, never mind leading it. Goodbye. Please come back when you're ready to behave.
  • Nal is a real asshole for asking a legitimate question.
  • was that directed at me? I have no beef with Nal at all. But just in case, it says here : Cheney has lobbied against a measure in Congress that would outlaw "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" of prisoners, calling for an exception for the CIA in cases that involve a detainee who may have knowledge of an imminent attack. The whole article is rather saddening, but you have to ask - why would you object to outlawing "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment" unless that is what you propose to do?
  • Best quote from the article: No country needs to invent how to "legalize" torture; the problem is rather how to stop it from happening.
  • Uhh... I Googled "Chekist's handshake" and there is no such thing. Except for the two hits that quote this article. What gives?
  • I Googled "Chekist's handshake" and there is no such thing Bukovsky was imprisoned by the Soviets for a long time. I heard him talk, once, about his own experiences being interrogated in prison. He's a man who knows whereof he speaks, in this regard.