Posted on 05/12/2004 2:01:04 PM PDT by Maigrey
In the last day, the words torture and humiliation have been bandied throughout the press and talking heads of the media. Hearing these words time and time again, I thought I would look them up and see how they were defined.
Torture
Main Entry: 1tor·ture
Pronunciation: 'tor-ch&r
Function: noun
Etymology: French, from Late Latin tortura, from Latin tortus, past participle of torquEre to twist; probably akin to Old High German drAhsil turner, Greek atraktos spindle
1 a: anguish of body or mind: AGONY
b: something that causes agony or pain
2: the infliction of intense pain (as from burning, crushing, or wounding) to punish, coerce, or afford sadistic pleasure
3: distortion or overrefinement of a meaning or an argument:Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): tor·tured; tor·tur·ing /'torch-ri[ng], 'tor-ch&-/
1: to cause intense suffering to : TORMENT
2: to punish or coerce by inflicting excruciating pain
3: to twist or wrench out of shape:
From Dict.Die.net
Torture
n 1: extreme mental distress [syn: anguish, torment]
2: unbearable physical pain [syn: torment]
3: intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain; "an agony of doubt"; "the torments of the damned" [syn: agony, torment]
4: the act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean [syn: distortion, overrefinement, straining, twisting]
5: the act of torturing someone; "it required unnatural torturing to extract a confession" [syn: torturing]
v 1: torment emotionally or mentally [syn: torment, excruciate, rack]
2: subject to torture [syn: excruciate, torment]
Well, let us also look the definition of humiliation from those same two sources.
Main Entry: hu·mil·i·ate
Pronunciation: hyü-'mi-lE-"At, yü-
Function: transitive verb
Inflected Form(s): -at·ed; -at·ing
Etymology: Late Latin humiliates, past participle of humiliare, from Latin humilis low -- more at HUMBLE
: to reduce to a lower position in one's own eyes or others' eyes : MORTIFY
humiliate (humiliation):
n 1: state of disgrace or loss of self-respect
2: strong feelings of embarrassment [syn: chagrin, mortification]
3: depriving one of self-esteem [syn: abasement]
So, in regards to the definitions presented, how can the pictures - which might or might not violate the Geneva Convention on treatment of prisoners - can the treatment of prisoners be held as such? But, in that itself, comes a distinct and important question: who qualifies as a protected person under the Geneva Convention?
The Geneva Convention states in convention three, article four, that those who are soldiers for a co-signed country that they are covered by the Geneva Convention when they are captured in battle.
Article Four also states that those who have taken up arms against an invading army for the reason of being part of a state militia, as long as their carry their arms openly, and submit to a command authority, are also given privilege of Geneva Convention protections p> According to the report my Army Major General Antonio Taguba, the isolated (to date) incidents occurred in one cell block of the Abu Ghraib prison: Cellblock 1a: the cellblock for terrorists. These prisoners are the ones who were arrested and charged for terrorist activities against Coalition Forces and against the people of Iraq, which include murder.
As a reader, the decision is up to you whether these pictures were, as Rush Limbaugh said, just a hazing prank; or as Sen. Ted Kennedy stated, "Tantamount to Torture" or somewhere in between. We hope we've given some clarity in deciding on whether these soldiers' actions are a violation of moral and ethical laws in regards to the treatment of prisoners held in Iraq.
So, the remaining question is: where do terrorists fall into this? They are not citizens of Iraq. They do not wear a uniform, or insignia declaring them part of the Iraqi Army. They do not carry their weapons openly, and they do not fall within command organizations for the purpose of being a militia.
So, should they also be afforded the same protections and comforts afforded those who did follow "the rules of war?" Should they also be protected by the Geneva Convention from humiliation and torture?
Like all things, many a thing depends on your perception of a point of view.
I don't see a problem with the pictures, even if some lawyer 3000 miles away does.
This is especially the case after the death of Nick Berg.
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