Mark Phillips: The American Question

5/11/04: Unlucky Lindh.

The previously dominant narrative is being replaced by a new one.

Well-meaning Americans are coming to understand that the torture of prisoners by their government is less than infrequent. As the Washington Post editorializes:

THE BUSH administration still seeks to mislead Congress and the public about the policies that contributed to the criminal abuse of prisoners in Iraq. Yesterday's smoke screen was provided by Stephen A. Cambone, undersecretary of defense for intelligence. Mr. Cambone assured the Senate Armed Services Committee that the administration's policy had always been to strictly observe the Geneva Conventions in Iraq; that all procedures for interrogations in Iraq were sanctioned under the conventions; and that the abuses of detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison were consequently the isolated acts of individuals. These assertions are contradicted by International Red Cross and Army investigators, by U.S. generals overseeing the prisoners, and by Mr. Cambone himself.

The contradictions are far older than the current scandal over Abu Ghraib. American jihadi John Walker Lindh was held naked in a metal shipping container in the Afghan winter, conditions which were reportedly routine and which seem sickeningly similar to the abuses at Abu Ghraib. As Professor Jonathan Turley wrote in the March 6, 2003 Los Angeles Times:

In Afghanistan, it is hardly surprising to find two dead bodies with signs of torture. This week, however, a shocking U.S. military coroner's report also suggested that the most likely suspect in the homicides was the U.S. government. Even more disturbing is emerging evidence that the United States may be operating something that would have seemed unimaginable only two years ago: an American torture facility.

Credible reports now indicate that the government, with the approval of high-ranking officials, is engaging in systematic techniques considered by many to be torture.

U.S. officials have admitted using techniques that this nation previously denounced as violations of international law. One official involved in the "interrogation center" in Afghanistan said "if you don't violate someone's human rights, you probably aren't doing your job."

Mr. Lindh was convicted and imprisoned based on statements he made under conditions which many Americans now consider to be torture. Will his conviction be allowed to stand?

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