The ICRC’s confidential report on the treatment of detainees by the Bush administration is now available here.
The report’s myriad sections are a who’s who of infringements upon human dignity, with such gems as “Suffocation by water”, “Beating and kicking”, “Beatings by use of a collar”, “Prolonged nudity” and “Sleep deprivation”.
An excellent summary of some of the contents of the report are available here in an article by Mark Danner. His work on uncovering the shameful history of torture under George W. Bush cannot be understated. His assessment makes for fascinating and frightening reading.
An excerpt:
One works the imagination trying to picture what it was like in this otherworldly place: blackness in place of vision. Silence—or “sometimes” loud music—in place of sounds of life. Shackles, together sometimes with gloves, in place of the chance to reach, touch, feel. One senses metal on wrist and ankle, cotton against eyes, cloth across face, shit and piss against skin. On “some occasions detainees were transported lying flat on the floor of the plane…with their hands cuffed behind their backs,” causing them “severe pain and discomfort,” as they were moved from one unknown location to another.
And several Arab nations were complicit in the torture of detainees.
Shame on us.
What compels you to believe that everything you read is in fact?
Which part? The accounts by the detainees, who were held in solitary confinement, were corroborated by other detainees not in contact with them, lending the accounts a lot of credibility. The report itself was also confidential, not intended for public consumption, and so it was more candid in its treatment of the material and labeled the activities of the US government unequivocally as torture.
What do you mean “complicit in the torture of detainees”?
Egypt, Jordan, the UAE and Syria collaborated with the UK in the torture of detainees:
http://blachan.com/blog/the-cheney-brigade/
Truth be told… I’m not surprised… I’m local, and we hear about torture in the country