Why Respect for
U.S. has 'Disappeared' in Many Parts of the World (Trouw, The Netherlands)
"The
justifiable invasion of Afghanistan was followed by an invasion of Iraq under
false pretenses; in countries like Yemen and Somalia overt and covert
operations were conducted against terrorists; an extensive program of secret
prisons was set up; Guantanamo became a symbol of American injustice, and
finally there was the damaging NSA affair. … Time after time it became clear
that America broke the law. The result was that respect for America in many
parts of the world is gone … and international terrorism went into high gear."
There is nothing strange about the fact that the Americans
have increased the security of their embassies, because the report on the
torture methods of the CIA is a bomb that cannot easily be disarmed. In itself,
I wasn't surprised at the outcome of the U.S. Senate's investigation. The main
question is why this could have happened.
Already in 2003, ten months after the start of the program,
the head of CIA interrogations reported that the methods being used were immoral
and would eventually turn against the service. That conclusion came as no surprise,
because already in 1989, the service wrote to Congress that inhumane
interrogation techniques were counterproductive.
A few years ago, when reports about water boarding began to
appear in the media, I asked an interrogator in Afghanistan about his
techniques. His answer was certain: if you torture you can get your
mother-in-law to admit she has a relationship with bin Laden. According to him,
when confronted with hard facts alone suspects most often caved in.
Size problem
I thought it was remarkable that arrested Taliban leaders, who
according to the same interrogator believed that would be tortured by the
Americans, were surprised when they weren't. That there was torture going on was
clear to me, but as to the extent of the problem I could only guess.
The explanation for these lapses lies in my opinion in the
period immediately after September 11, 2001. "If you're not with us you
are with the terrorists," said President Bush as he began the fight
against al-Qaeda. Opponents of his policies were supporters of al-Qaeda. What
happened after the attacks on New York and Washington is well known: the
justifiable invasion of Afghanistan was followed by an invasion of Iraq under
false pretenses; in countries like Yemen and Somalia overt and covert
operations were conducted against terrorists; an extensive program of secret
prisons was set up; Guantanamo became a symbol of American injustice; and finally,
there was the damaging NSA affair.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
Time after time it became clear that America broke the law.
The result was that respect for Americans in many parts of the world is gone, a
country like Iraq became a failed state, the Middle East became disrupted and
international terrorism went into high gear.
License
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu wrote in 2012 that
President Bush and British Prime Minister Blair should be condemned for the
Iraq War. By now, several NGOs are asking for the same. Those who look into America's
counterterrorism under Bush will conclude that services like the CIA thought
they had a license to interrogate suspects at their discretion. If you listened
carefully to the president [Bush], one could have concluded that everything and
anything was allowed in the fight against terrorism.
According to the torture report, the CIA gave misleading
information to the White House and Congress and Bush didn't know everything. I
wonder about that. What is certain is that his approach and tone displayed by Bush,
Vice President Cheney and Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld could be seen as a
justification for these barbaric practices.
