The approval of torture on detainees must be labeled an intentional, calculated decision that resulted from post-9/11 hyper-patriotism justifying the unethical treatment and dehumanization of detainees, who at times held no relevant knowledge regarding terrorism or were completely innocent,” writes Claire Oh for International Policy Digest. President Trump’s attempts to bury the Senate Intelligence Committee Report on Torture (he has ordered the return of all copies of the report to the Senate vaults) undermine the integrity of the United States’ government.
“By disregarding these commitments [Geneva Conventions and UN Convention against Torture] and attempting to sweep the violations into a vault, we leave ourselves vulnerable to criticism and accusations of hypocrisy from other nations,” Oh adds.
Let alone delivering justice to the 41 remaining prisoners illegally held at Guantánamo. Far from facilitating closure of the hated U.S. concentration camp, Trump has promised to “fill Guantánamo up with bad dudes.”
“It is also critical to bring the idea of torture from the abstract to the concrete in the minds of Americans, preventing ourselves from falling prey to historical amnesia,” concludes Oh. “The future of America’s use of torture is unknown, especially considering that a 2017 Pew Research national survey found that roughly 48% of Americans say there are some circumstances under which the use of torture is acceptable in U.S. anti-terrorist efforts…
“Although debating the use of torture has unfortunately become a norm, it is because of society’s current attitude on enhanced interrogation techniques that make the information within the report imperative.”