Monday, October 25, 2010

Torture and death nothing new in Iraq

'Many Iraqis say torture is still a regular part of life.

One soldier, who didn't want to give his name for fear of losing his job, says two months ago he watched as nearly 20 soldiers brutally beat an insurgent who had confessed to booby-trapping a house and killing eight Iraqi troops.

"It started with slapping him on the face and punching him. And he fell on the ground. And they started beating him and kicking him with their boots, smashing his ribs," he says.

They smashed his face as well. It only took minutes for the suspect to die. Another officer confirmed the insurgent was killed by Iraqi soldiers but denied he was beaten.

Either way, with abuse like this still common, many Iraqis' reactions to the WikiLeaks documents has been indifference and resignation. Torture and death are nothing new in Iraq.'

5 comments :

Don Cox said...

"Many Iraqis say torture is still a regular part of life."

Iraqis have lived with tyranny, violence and war for decades. It is hardly surprising if many think violence is normal behavior.

Also, there must be millions of Iraqis suffering from post-traumatic stress.

The only cure is several decades of peace and democracy.

Dolly said...

Maybe the reason this is so surprising Cox, is that the torture is taking place exactly within the framework of your fantastic "democracy."

Dolly said...

Btw → I am not saying that the flaw is in the concept of democracy itself. I'm saying the torture proves Iraq is not a democracy.

Recall that the invader never had the goal of establishing a Soros-like open society there. Rather → they set out precisely with the intention to abuse.

Don Cox said...

Democracy is a whole collection of skills, not just something you switch on.

One part is the rule of law, with an independent judiciary and police who are neither corrupt nor violent. Iraq doesn't have this right yet, but it is better than under Saddam.

What Iraq does have is free voting for both men and women, a remarkably free press by Arab standards, and politicians who for months have been negotiating rather than having street battles. This is a big step forward.

The intention of the invasion was not to establish democracy but to prevent Saddam from mounting any terror attacks in imitation of 9/11, or invading any more neighbors.

It was expected that Iraqis would want to set up something more like a democracy than the Saddam regime, and this they have done. But the constitution is in my opinion too sectarian.

Bruno said...

[cox] "Democracy is a whole collection of skills, not just something you switch on."

Exactly. I'm wondering when Americans will learn this.