Stop lying, Jay

Jay Stephenson is lying to his readers at StopTheACLU.com:

The [UN report on Guantanamo Bay] had an extensive list of torture including handling them roughly, not allowing them to starve to death , restraining them, leaving them by themselves (solitary confinement), discomforting room temperatures, bringing dogs to bark at them, and making them sleep on non-fluffed pillows….without the complimentary mints.

This, of course, is not what the report said. What did it say? [PDF file]

B. Interrogation techniques

49. Following the ambiguous interpretations of what constitutes torture and ill-treatment detailed in Section A, the following interrogation techniques, which clearly went beyond earlier practice (as contained in Army Field Manual FM 34-52), were approved by the Secretary of Defense on 2 December 2002.

• “The use of stress positions (like standing) for a maximum of four hours;


• Detention in isolation up to 30 days;


• The detainee may have a hood placed over his head during transportation and questioning;


• Deprivation of light and auditory stimuli;


• Removal of all comfort items;


• Forced grooming (shaving of facial hair, etc);


• Removal of clothing;


• Interrogation for up to 20 hours and


• Using detainees’ individual phobias (such as fear of dogs) to induce stress.”

50. After having rescinded the above memorandum on 15 January 2005, the Secretary of Defense on 16 April 2003 authorised the following techniques which remain in force:

• “B. Incentive/Removal of Incentive i.e. comfort items;


• S. Change of Scenery Down might include exposure to extreme temperatures and deprivation of light and auditory stimuli;


• U. Environmental Manipulation: Altering the environment to create moderate discomfort (e.g. adjusting temperature or introducing an unpleasant smell).


• V. Sleep Adjustment; Adjusting the sleeping times of the detainee (e.g. reversing sleep cycles from night to day) This technique is not sleep deprivation.


• X. Isolation: Isolating the detainee from other detainees while still complying with basic standards of treatment.”

These techniques meet four of the five elements in the Convention definition of torture (the acts in question were perpetrated by government officials; they had a clear purpose, i.e. gathering intelligence, extracting information; the acts were committed intentionally; and the victims were in a position of powerlessness). However, to meet the Convention definition of torture, severe pain or suffering, physical or mental, must be inflicted. Treatment aimed at humiliating victims may amount to degrading treatment or punishment, even without intensive pain or suffering. It is difficult to assess in abstracto whether this is the case with regard to acts such as the removal of clothes. However, stripping detainees naked, particularly in the presence of women and taking into account cultural sensitivities, can in individual cases cause extreme psychological pressure and can amount to degrading treatment, or even torture. The same holds true for the use of dogs, especially if it is clear that an individual phobia exists. Exposure to extreme temperatures, if prolonged, can conceivably cause severe suffering.

It’s far from clear that the detainees at Guantanamo are all dangerous terrorists. The revelations about what we’re doing down there will continue for years — as will, I suspect, the damage to this country’s image in the international community.

What is clear is that Jay Stephenson hasn’t the faintest interest in finding or discussing the truth. He is quite willing to spread deliberate lies on his site. His kind is far, far too common in US public discourse these days: ready to ignore the facts and spread falsehoods in the service of an ideology that knows no moral constraints.

UPDATE 02/17/06: Jay has to work very hard to miss the point. It’s not about torture, Jay. It’s about your decision to lie about the contents of the report.

Give me a break!, I had worse torture in Basic Training. If this is what the left is defininging as torture, we’re gonna get nowhere in the war against these extremist killers!

It’s clear that Jay hadn’t even bothered to read the report before he posted his lies. Not only has he chosen to be dishonest, he has chosen to be ignorant.