I have no doubt that a training manual that gives hints on what to do if captured is behind a string of torture claims that have been surfacing. Let's face it there may be some bad apples out there who would really torture someone, but the fact is that there is so much oversight and attention on these facilities that I find it highly unlikely. Claiming you were tortured is a great pasttime for prisoners even in the U.S. prison system and it quickly gets you attention and puts pressure on the U.S. to investigate your claims. This is a great way for terrorists to make us look bad as well as potentially gaining sympathy and a trial.
Washington Times
An al Qaeda handbook preaches to operatives to level charges of torture once captured, a training regime that administration officials say explains some of the charges of abuse at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.
...
In a raid on an al Qaeda cell in Manchester, British authorities seized al Qaeda's most extensive manual for how to wage war.
A directive lists one mission as "spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy."
If captured, the manual states, "At the beginning of the trial ... the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by state security before the judge. Complain of mistreatment while in prison."
The handbook instructs commanders to make sure operatives, or "brothers," understand what to say if captured.
"Prior to executing an operation, the commander should instruct his soldiers on what to say if they are captured," the document says. "He should explain that more than once in order to ensure that they have assimilated it. They should, in turn, explain it back to the commander."
An example might have occurred in a Northern Virginia courtroom in February.
Ahmed Omar Abul Ali, accused of planning to assassinate President Bush, made an appearance in U.S. District Court and promptly told the judge that he had been tortured in Saudi Arabia, including a claim that his back had been whipped. He is accused of meeting there with a senior al Qaeda leader.
Days later, a U.S. attorney filed a court document saying physicians had examined Ali and "found no evidence of any physical mistreatment on the defendant's back or any other part of his body."
My solution to this problem: Take them out back and two to the head. It's both humane, deserved and puts these false claims to bed.
Tipped by: In The Bullpen who has much more to say on this.
Other Commentary:
The Jawa Report
Say Anything
