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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 12:58 PM
Original message
Sexual Tactics Used On Guantanamo Detainees, Insider Says

Sexual Tactics Used On Guantanamo Detainees, Insider Says

Dow Jones Newswires
01-27-051233ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP)--Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by touching them sexually, wearing skimpy clothing such as a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood, according to an insider's written account.

A rough manuscript obtained by The Associated Press is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a planned book that details ways the U.S. military used women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics to get terror suspects to talk.

It's the most revealing account so far of interrogations at the secretive detention camp, where officials say they have halted some controversial techniques.

"I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case," the author, former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar, 29, told AP.
(snip/...)

http://www.international.nasdaq.com/asp/gmWorldNews.asp&headl">~ ~ ~ ~ link ~ ~ ~ ~

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NashVegas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:01 PM
Response to Original message
1. related
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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #1
11. Yep, I do, but it's so long, I had to abbreviate it in the "~~ link ~~"
thing right beneath the snips. Here's what it looks like:

http://www.nasdaq.com/asp/quotes_news.asp?cpath=20050127\ACQDJON200501271233DOWJONESDJONLINE001082.htm&selected=9999&StoryTargetFrame=_top&mkt=WORLD&chk=unchecked&lang=&link=&headlinereturnpage=<a%20href=

It doesn't work unless I shorten it:
~~~~ link ~~~~

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TahitiNut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:05 PM
Response to Original message
2. Consistent with allegations made by Aussie Mamdouh Habib
If this is what "America" has become, I don't want anything to do with it.
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anakie Donating Member (935 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 07:26 PM
Response to Reply #2
50. Habib is due back in Australia today or tomorrow
the government thru the attorney general Philip Ruddock are trying to gag him. The head of the federal police has said that as he appears not to have broken any Australian laws he will be a free man.

But the government will do its best to shut him up. If they cant outright gag him they will do their best to discredit him (sop). They will also try to stop him from selling his story to the press; but funnily enough have said nothing about compensation for his time at Club Med Guantanamo Bay.
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soaky Donating Member (116 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 09:05 PM
Response to Reply #50
54. they have commented on compensation
Howard gave a very emphatic NO when asked if Mamdouh would get an apology, or compensation.
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Dhalgren Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:05 PM
Response to Original message
3. "And I'm proud to be an Amerikan where at least I know I'm free"
:puke: :puke: :puke: :puke:
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KansDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:44 PM
Response to Reply #3
30. Yeah, if I remember my American History correctly...
We had the "colonial period"
the "Period of Enlightenment"
the "revolutionary war period"
the "expansionist period"
the "civil war period"
the "industrial period"
the "period between the wars"
the "post WWII period"
the "cold-war period"
the "post cold-war period"

and now the "menstrual period" under George W. Bush...

How I hate that man! :grr:
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TalkingDog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:35 PM
Response to Reply #3
37. No, it's "I'm proud to be an American where at least I THINK I'm free" n/t
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Hell Hath No Fury Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:08 PM
Response to Original message
4. Rember back in the day...
when one of the first detainees released gave a story about how he was smeared with blood and taunted by scantily clad women? So many on this board dismissed his story as bullshit, utterly impossible.

Next time a totally outrageous story comes out, I hope they remember that the utterly impossible IS possible under this administration.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:21 PM
Response to Reply #4
7. Thank you for saying this, before I did.
I wish we could search the archive now, to pull up some of those incredulous quotes.

We're way through the looking glass. Folks who can't see that yet - what will it take to make them see?
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Ms. Clio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:44 PM
Response to Reply #4
9. I was just going to post that myself
I can still remember the squeals of outrage at the very notion that the holy and sainted United States military would ever do such things. Only an America-hater would say such a thing. What will the freepers think of us for posting such drivel? Etc.



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DELUSIONAL Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:28 PM
Response to Reply #4
27. The Afghan war -- the news from the Taliban was often more truthful
than the news from the Pentagon.

The Taliban reported downing a helicopter -- Pentagon denial -- in fact a helicopter was hit -- parts of it were on the ground.

Then the reports of systematic abuse of prisoners -- some of the stories were so outlandish and unbelievable -- but there was a consistency in the reports and descriptions. I started to feel very ill -- that the Geneva conventions has been tossed out -- by the civilian leadership.

Anyone who has family who have served in hostile territory with the possibility of POW -- wants the Geneva conventions honored. I remember as a very young child when my father went through POW training -- just in case he was taken prisoner.

That sick feeling remains -- because the very worse we can imagine has come true. The US military has crossed the line . . . and the bushies don't give a damned about the military or the military families.

When individuals cross that line (with approval through the chain of command) -- they lose part of their humanity. bush is a sick fuck.
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TahitiNut Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
5. Equivalent story at Ireland On-Line ...
http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=131777018&p=y3y7777z4&n=131777778


US accused of using sex to break Guantanamo prisoners
27/01/2005 - 17:39:18

Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the US prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by touching them sexually, wearing miniskirts and thongs, according to an insider’s written account.

In one case a woman smeared a Saudi man’s face with fake menstrual blood, he claims.

A rough manuscript obtained by The Associated Press is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a planned book that details ways the US military used women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics to get terror suspects to talk.

It’s the most revealing account so far of interrogations at the secretive detention camp, where officials say they have halted some controversial techniques.

“I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case,” the author, former US Army Sergeant Erik Saar, 29, told AP.

<snip>
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tubbacheez Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:10 PM
Response to Original message
6. That fake menstrual blood could've exposed a terrorist's timebomb!!!
They make 3-year fuses, you know.
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seventythree Donating Member (904 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 03:31 PM
Response to Reply #6
66. agree, I think,
unless you are trying to make a tampon joke. I guess I am way out of step here, but I don't consider this torture. To me, torture is causing physical pain, and perhaps, mental, if, as with extreme sleep deprivation,you can cause one to go off the deep end, or dunking a prisoner to make them believe you will drown them, or threatening their family. The idea here was to break them from the power of resistance that they think they are getting from their woman hating God. Aru Ghraib got more play for the sexual pictures than for the allegations of rape and murder because we like the titillating stuff. The dog piles were not right, don't get me wrong, but do I think they amounted to torture? And while I think this outrage was condoned from the top, I also think we had individuals who were just getting their jollies from it rather than actually using it as a form of softening up for interrogation. Lori England with the naked man and the leash was more "softening up" than dog piles or circle jerks because of their hate of women, as were forced (staged?) anal sex because of religious prohibitions on homosexuality AND threats to show pics to their families. They still behead gays in Saudi Arabia.

We also have the problem of true potential threat to us, here, vs folks just gatherd from the street as with Aru Ghraib who may or may not be threatening to troops in a war we started.
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Carni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:37 PM
Response to Original message
8. I REALLY don't understand WTF this admin is thinking
Not only is this despicable on many levels it literally makes no sense...
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Ms. Clio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #8
10. In many cultures, women's menstrual blood is considered impure, polluting,
even dangerous.

They knew exactly what they were doing.
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TX-RAT Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 01:50 PM
Response to Reply #10
12. Sounds like something Black Jack Pershing would do.
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Ms. Clio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:10 PM
Response to Reply #12
13. Does it???? What don't I know about old Black Jack?
Can you elaborate?
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comsymp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:45 PM
Response to Reply #13
16. Elaborating
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 02:45 PM by comsymp
From Snopes

And to elaborate further on your #10, JudeoChristian culture has a thing about menstrual blood / menstruation as well:
http://www.probe.org/docs/e-unclean.html
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Ms. Clio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:36 PM
Response to Reply #16
29. I did not know that about Pershing
From what Snopes has, it seems that story may be apocryphal, but it would not at all surprise me if it was true. Although the slaughter the U.S. performed in the Phillipines is definitely one of those things the vast majority of Americans know nothing about. But there are many parallels to the Iraq situation.

And thanks for the JudeoChristian reference, which I knew of, but was not specifically thinking about.

I think it should also be pointed out that in some Indian cultures, like that of the Cherokees, women's menstrual blood was considered not "unclean," but potentially dangerous because blood itself was considered an extremely powerful substance.

Appreciate your links, thanks.
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comsymp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:45 PM
Response to Reply #29
39. Had heard that the Pershing story *may have been*
apocryphal, hence the Snopes link as opposed to some of the others- a little more balanced.

And thanks for the interesting info on blood/native cultures- wasn't aware of that.
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 05:43 PM
Response to Reply #16
72. I have a friend who is a fight attendant
She used to fly to Israel a lot, and there would be piles of Hasidic guys on the plane, some of whom would be very demanding. When the plane was full, and the crew was on minimum FAA staffing, the way they would get these guys to STOP ringing the call bell every five minutes would be to wander down the aisle holding a large tampon.

It also worked better than asking (because that never seemed to work) to get them to SIT DOWN. They wouldn't even want to take something from a woman at that "time of the month."
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Carni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:03 PM
Response to Reply #10
19. I am well aware of that/ What I mean is
A couple of different things I guess are going through my head.

Sending a woman in to torment these guys (if they really are devout Jihad types) just sort of proves the argument against the US (in my mind)and I would think they would be even more determined not to talk after receiving such treatment?

Second point I am thinking about...Atta and several of his cronies although supposedly Islamic fundie types apparently boozed it up and did cocaine on a regular basis while living in Florida and Atta was living with a stripper (at least according to Daniel Hopsicker)
so I wouldn't think red ink and a thong would intimidate any of their cohorts.

Every interogator I have ever heard interviewed has said the key is to ingratiate yourself to the subject not piss them off to the point where they would rather die just to spite you.

Like everything else the bush admin does this is just incredibly wrong and unproductive on so many levels.


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Ms. Clio Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:27 PM
Response to Reply #19
26. But how many people in Guantanamo are really Atta's cohorts?
Most of them are just ordinary men from all over the world.
They don't know anything about "terrorism" to begin with. So yeah, it's definitely despicable, and completely useless, to interrogate and torture these people.

Except as a terror tactic, which I believe is Guantanamo's primary purpose.


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Carni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 05:40 PM
Response to Reply #26
42. I agree most are probably just Joe blow whoevers
I am sure they snagged some actual criminals in the mix but their methods are not only morally wrong they are just plain ineffective!
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sweetbutterfly Donating Member (85 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 06:14 PM
Response to Reply #26
75. Ordinary men?
How do you know that? If they aren't just "ordinary" people, then is it okay to interrogate and torture them?
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jdj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 12:20 PM
Response to Reply #10
60. except when it's predecessor is fertilized by sperm. Then it's life.
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Kablooie Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:36 PM
Response to Original message
14. Some Freeper responses ...
I only hope that someday if I'm captured by savages, they will use thongs and miniskirts to try and break me
---
Since when did a lap dance become illegal anyway?

OK, so the fake menstrual blood is kinda gross, but better than Saddam's use of the detainee's OWN blood!
---
whatever it takes to break these terrorists...
---
Oh the horror of being interrogated by a "civilian contractor" in a mini-skirt.
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truebrit71 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:44 PM
Response to Reply #14
15. Apparently the freeptards think that the Army uses babes for this...
...Ummm, picture Lyndie England in a thong and tell me that ain't torture.....
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comsymp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:48 PM
Response to Reply #15
17. Yup, that would be a DEFINITE two thumbs down
And it's also interesting that one of those asshats jokes about lapdancing not being illegal. He should probably check in with some of his fundie friends for the 411 on that.

F'rinstance, our old friend Google:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&q=lap+dancing+illegal
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KansDem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:10 PM
Response to Reply #17
35. "Thumbs" weren't the first "down" things that I thought about...
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 04:18 PM by KansDem
No doubt, though, the thong would be made of leather...

edited for clarity
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nine23 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 02:56 PM
Response to Reply #15
18. I'd turn in Osama himself if I had to see Lyndie England in a thong.
I'm getting ill just thinking about it.
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Jersey Ginny Donating Member (549 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:11 PM
Response to Reply #18
23. I'm glad Lynde England is a hetero
Lesbians are always depicted as ugly and man haters. The torture problem would have been blamed on not aggressively weeding out the lesbians in the military.
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comsymp Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:34 PM
Response to Reply #23
36. Would have been? Hell, it WAS blamed on G/L's~
Bush was correct when he said that what is happening at Abu Ghraib prison was not of the American customs, but that was correct before allowing the gays and perverts to join the army. Since those irregular men and women were allowed to serve in the army the quality of the American army and the level of its morals have been declining very badly.
http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/Abu-Ghraib-Saddam-Bush4may04.htm


Limbaugh was quick to point out the real culprit: porn — gay porn, specifically. Apparently the soldiers involved (who were photographed many times having heterosexual sex with one another) got these ideas from gay Web sites, which you can access “if you have a password.” What Limbaugh was doing with the password to gay porn sites, he’ll never tell.
http://www.rawstory.com/exclusives/womack/abu_ghraib_amusing.htm

If you look at these pictures you cannot deny that there are elements of homoeroticism and as was stated by a woman -- and I forget her name -- column on National Review Online yesterday, her point was, -- yeah, I've seen things like this on American websites. You can find these if you have the passwords to these various porn sites, you can see things like this. And her point was maybe these kids -- the soldiers, the guards whoever, who are of a certain age group, who've grown up with access to this -- are simply acting out what they've on these websites or something, just for the fun of it. Or maybe other reasons.
http://mediamatters.org/items/200405070007
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HoosierClarkie Donating Member (504 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 02:11 PM
Response to Reply #15
64. I know the story is not
Edited on Fri Jan-28-05 02:12 PM by HoosierClarkie
humorous but your post made me laugh.
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Vektor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:47 PM
Response to Reply #14
31. What do you expect from these freepers?
They are sexual deviants. A large majority of those "family values" people are sick perverts. They thump the bible, all the while advocating this crap, even joking about it.

Losers.
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Straight Shooter Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:57 PM
Response to Reply #14
34. "I only hope that someday if I'm captured by savages ...
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 03:58 PM by Straight Shooter
... they will use thongs and miniskirts to try and break me."

These are probably the same guys who would pressure their girlfriends in high school -- okay, okay, elementary school -- to give in because it hurt so bad when they got worked up and a man needs relief, ya know? They also don't understand that white women working on behalf of the U.S. government are REPULSIVE to these prisoners. I think the freepers have seen too many James Bond movies. Hey, boys, when you're held hostage by the enemy, you want freedom from your captors, not sex from them.

FreeRepublic ought to have some major global attention, not just on DU. The world needs to understand how the mind of a Neanderthal bush supporter operates. I'm of course being generous by calling it a "mind," as perhaps limbic brain life support system would be more accurate.
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Carni Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 05:48 PM
Response to Reply #14
43. The Saddam comments are the most idiotic
I guess no one told these bozos that Saddam's Iraq was secular.

Saddam's people I highly doubt would have been too offended by naked women (I think the whole regime fancied itself more in the spirit of the Sopranos than the Islamic version of the 700 club)

I wish these freeper morons would at least attempt to educate themselves about the different factions of people in the middle east (or at least get their regimes and countries straight for when they make their asinine comments!)
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lavenderdiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:04 PM
Response to Original message
20. I guess my take on this is kinda different,
I am just as outraged as the next person here at the torture techniques used on these people. I do not defend that in any way. My question is this: what was done to these female interrogators to get them to be ABLE to do such a thing? I don't think very many women would actually be able to do this type of thing. Were they programmed or broken down themselves? Not many women are going to be comfortable enough in their own bodies to be able to perform some of these acts. Maybe they had chips implanted in their brains or something (seen 'Manchurian Candidate' one too many times, I guess)
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American Tragedy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:06 PM
Response to Reply #20
21. What do you mean, comfortable in their bodies?
For me, and most other women, I would think that the primary deterrant would be ethical considerations, not whether I thought I looked okay in a thong.
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lavenderdiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:15 PM
Response to Reply #21
25. no, no, I didn't mean that... Please let me clarify
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 03:17 PM by lavenderdiva
I didn't explain very well... I agree with you about the ethical considerations, and from that I mean they wouldn't feel comfortable 'dancing' or whatever they were doing, showing a thong, or smearing blood on the guys' faces. I don't think very many women (at least any I know) are going to want to demean themselves by doing such things. They wouldn't want to humiliate themselves by participating in such behaviour (thus not feeling comfortable, my lousy previous verbage). My question was how they were made to feel comfortable getting over this 'bar', of self-humiliation, stooping to such comportment. Something must have gone on with the women themselves before they got into a room with a prisoner and sunk to such base comportment. I really believe that if a woman has any self-respect at all, she would find it extremely difficult to participate in such conduct.
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Vektor Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:49 PM
Response to Reply #25
32. Absolutely agreed.
The fact that these women even stooped to that level is disturbing.
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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:54 PM
Response to Reply #25
33. Also, you'd have to wonder what anyone would think about an officer
who would ask a soldier to do something like that. You'd want to smite him so hard he'd see spots in front of his eyes.

It's an unbelievable insult to be asked to do these things to others. That job description simply doesn't appear in anything they sign when they enlist.

I'd surely like to get a look at the clown who created this world of degradation surrounding humiliation surrounding physical torture surrounding blind hatred. I'll bet he's a honey.


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madison2000 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 05:34 PM
Response to Reply #33
71. Thats the real point here- I can't imagine these women just
go to the prisoners of their own accord and behave this way. Someone behind the scenes is instigating it. Its not just degrading to the prisoners, its degrading to military women to be used as sexual objects. I mean- doesn't it make you totally lose respect for the American military every time you hear that they do stuff like this?
Did we lose all our dignity on 9/11?
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Bridget Burke Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:42 PM
Response to Reply #25
38. They all have sad stories.
As the piano tinkles downstairs. "Mister, there was this man..."
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TalkingDog Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 04:49 PM
Response to Reply #25
40. Calling "sexist bullshit" on your question.
If it were men pissing on each other or sexually intimidating women would you have trouble asking the same question? If not you are engaging in a not so subtle form of sexism.

Your thesis sets up women as, somehow, inherently above this kind of behaviour, unless they've been "broken" or chipped or brainwashed.

Sort of a Madonna/Brainwashed Whore conundrum. Women are by nature more empathetic, nurturing, kind, delicate, etc., unless they are chipped by the government. Then they have no problem being as base or as low as any man.

Trust me, people are people. The thresh-hold for barbarism is the same for both sexes, you just need someones permission. And they had it.

"I really believe that if a woman has any self-respect at all, she would find it extremely difficult to participate in such conduct."

I really believe that if a human being, regardless of gender, has any self-respect at all, they would find it extremely difficult to participate in such conduct.

PS I've got ovaries. Big ones.
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demgurl Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 06:40 PM
Response to Reply #40
48. Perhaps it is sexist....
but maybe in a different way? Perhaps it was a compliment that comeone expects more from a woman than a man? Maybe they would say what type of animal would do that if it was a man but if they wouldn't, perhaps it is because man is not as highly thought of as a woman.
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lavenderdiva Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 08:34 PM
Response to Reply #40
52. my, oh my, oh my... I am putting on my fire-retardant gear here.
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 08:48 PM by lavenderdiva
'If men were pissing on each other and sexually intimidating women', I would DEFINITELY have absolutely NO problem asking the same questions. I think most people (men AND women) ARE 'inherently above this kind of behaviour' and WOULD have problems participating WITHOUT being 'broken or chipped or brainwashed'. I still believe that most people are kind at heart (we all have bad days now and then, but not like this), care about others, and wish to do them no harm.

People can certainly be cruel. How they got that way, who knows? There could be a myriad of reasons. I think there are those, who for whatever reason, are just evil. Then there are those who were raised in such a way that they were taught cruelty, and have such anger in them that they lash out. Whoever is on the receiving end of their brutality doesn't really care; it feels the same. I don't think evil people need anyone's permission to be mean, all they need is the right situation. These people are drawn to situations where they can act out, and their contemptible behaviour is condoned. Perhaps this is what they found as interrogators: ample opportunity and reward for just being themselves! I don't know.

What I do think is that most normal people (men AND women) would have a REALLY hard time doing these horrible things to another person or being. To get past innate decorum, even in extreme circumstances, something would have to be re-wired in most people. Perhaps this explains why so many of the young people coming back from Iraq (like those who came back from Vietnam) are having such problems handling all that they saw and experienced. They are normal young people, and have never seen or experienced anything like this, and don't know how to process it. They are coming back with psychological and emotional problems, and need treatment. I think that is why you see such outrage in people seeing pictures of the torture and brutality, and hearing stories such as those in this thread. If all we needed was permission to participate in such behaviour, we would all be expressing glee and envy at what was going on. I don't see that happening. I think most of us are disgusted and appalled, because we have a regard for others. We also have self-respect and do not condone these detestable activities.
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leftchick Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 06:01 PM
Response to Reply #25
45. Here are some Plenty Gals Capable... History repeats....
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 06:56 PM by leftchick


SS women from Belsen camp.
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PassingFair Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 09:18 PM
Response to Reply #25
55. Hired prostitutes
will do almost anything. It's their job to "be comfortable in their bodies" (-just kidding, lavender, i know what you meant.....)when you are depersonalized, you don't care about your body.
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 12:17 PM
Response to Reply #25
58. Good observation---the ethical depravity is multi-layered
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jdj Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 12:22 PM
Response to Reply #25
61. I would agree. One hell of a lot of cash, maybe?
Or maybe racist hatred was the motivator.

I am glad the blood was at least fake though.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 12:23 PM
Response to Reply #25
62. Read about "Project Monarch"
CIA mind control programming of sexual slaves.

I know - sounds crazy. Just less crazy all the time.
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Jersey Ginny Donating Member (549 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:09 PM
Response to Reply #20
22. Torture takes the sole of the perpetrator
as well as the victim. Both lose their humanity.
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:12 PM
Response to Reply #20
24. Indeed
lavenderdiva

What kind of a woman would do that? A Woman Marine? A Navy WAVE? The Commander's wife? The Laura Bush?

So many questions.

180
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MADem Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 05:48 PM
Response to Reply #24
73. Navy does not have WAVES anymore
They're Sailors, just like all Sailors.
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oneighty Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 06:54 PM
Response to Reply #73
77. Really?
No WAVES? That is terrible. It makes sense though. I was Navy EOD many years ago and still belong to the NEODA (Association), and of course there are lady EODs now. Not WAVEs.

Sigh.

180
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Azathoth Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 07:13 PM
Response to Reply #20
49. Women can use sexual intimidation just as well as men can
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 07:14 PM by Azathoth
and from what I've read here and there, some these "civilian contractors" were fairly well-trained, either ex-intelligence or trained by ex-intelligence. Learning how to compromise, persuade, or otherwise psychologically manipulate people is a fundamental skill taught to intelligence operatives. Using one's sexuality to maximum advantage is obviously a big part of that. Being "comfortable in your own body", as you put it, is a necessity.

The interrogators were using these same skills, only to a different effect. Instead of using their sexuality to seduce potential informants/spies/leaks/etc, they were using it to assault the rigid religious beliefs of the prisoners. The menstrual blood was a particularly inspired touch, since menstruating women are considered unclean under Islamic doctrine. They are forbidden to even say prayers or hold a Quran.

As far as these female interrogators were concerned, using sexual humiliation was just another aspect of their job.
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maxrandb Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 03:32 PM
Response to Original message
28. And Yet to Republicans
This is all a sign that finally woman have equality in America.:crazy:
:eyes:
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GoddessOfGuinness Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 05:02 PM
Response to Original message
41. Sexual "tactics"?
Sounds like sexual assault to me...
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Politicub Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 05:57 PM
Response to Original message
44. Perhaps the flag of freedom was planted in their bums
After all, freedom is on the march over there.
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Danieljay Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 06:12 PM
Response to Original message
46. AP: Gitmo Soldier Details Sexual Tactics
This is Sick.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=514&e=3&u=/ap/20050127/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_sex_vs_faith

By PAISLEY DODDS, Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Female interrogators tried to break Muslim detainees at the U.S. prison camp in Guantanamo Bay by sexual touching, wearing a miniskirt and thong underwear and in one case smearing a Saudi man's face with fake menstrual blood, according to an insider's written account.

snip

"His female interrogator decided that she needed to turn up the heat," Saar writes, saying she repeatedly asked the detainee who had sent him to Arizona, telling him he could "cooperate" or "have no hope whatsoever of ever leaving this place or talking to a lawyer.'"


snip


The female interrogator wanted to "break him," Saar adds, describing how she removed her uniform top to expose a tight-fitting T-shirt and began taunting the detainee, touching her breasts, rubbing them against the prisoner's back and commenting on his apparent erection.

She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee," he says. "As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants. When it became visible the detainee saw what appeared to be red blood on her hand. She said, 'Who sent you to Arizona?' He then glared at her with a piercing look of hatred.

"She then wiped the red ink on his face. He shouted at the top of his lungs, spat at her and lunged forward" — so fiercely that he broke loose from one ankle shackle.

"He began to cry like a baby," the draft says, noting the interrogator left saying, "Have a fun night in your cell without any water to clean yourself."


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Turbineguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 06:12 PM
Response to Reply #46
47. Obviously some women
Edited on Thu Jan-27-05 06:12 PM by Turbineguy
voted for Bush.

But isn't this carrying self degradation a little too far?
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Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 08:29 PM
Response to Original message
51. Aren't you glad these Bushies are such moral Christians?
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codebuster11 Donating Member (61 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 08:46 PM
Response to Original message
53. blogged
Yeah i wrote a bunch about this on my blog at democraticelite.tk

powerful stuff i believe...the article i mean, not what i write.
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jayctravis Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 09:39 PM
Response to Original message
56. FAKE MENSTRUAL BLOOD???
Fake meaning blood not from menses?
Fake meaning blood from someone else?
Fake meaning blood from the person being tortured?
Fake meaning halloween vampire blood "ha ha!" which has NO business being in the possession of the armed forces?

Did our tax dollars buy "fake blood"?
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 04:44 PM
Response to Reply #56
67. Fake meaning "the depths of our depravity remain classified."
For instance, this story admits only to "skimpy" mini skirts and thongs. Released detainees have spoken about naked women touching themselves, and real menstrual blood.
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EndElectoral Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Thu Jan-27-05 11:47 PM
Response to Original message
57. Will this be on the Nightly News...NOT!..Rumseld has got to go!
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Hamsta1 Donating Member (80 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 12:18 PM
Response to Original message
59. I can hear Limaughnnity now
"What is the big deal here? Now we're getting upset because these MALE detainees are FORCED to look at scantily-clad FEMALES? This is no different than taking them into a strip-club! Something American males pay money to do, and we're giving it to these terrorists for free. If you ask me (i'm sure nobody did) we're treating these prisoners TOO WELL if they are being groped by half-naked women. And the liberal media is calling this torture?? What planet are they on?"

I could just *hear* Rush saying those words as I typed them. You know he's probably actually jealous of those detainees now, because he has to pay for that kind of treatment. Just don't forget the Viagra/Oxycontin cocktail!
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Supersedeas Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 01:41 PM
Response to Reply #59
63. it takes a serious money grubbing skank to do either, IMHO
images of Corilla DeVille come to mind.
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American Tragedy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 03:22 PM
Response to Original message
65. Am I the only one who questions the effectiveness of this tactic?
Edited on Fri Jan-28-05 03:29 PM by American Tragedy
I'm not quite connecting the dots here. How does sexual taunting like this make prisoners more inclined to talk? I would understand if such acts were part of a deliberate attempt to seduce, but this is obviously an effort merely to repulse the subjects. Can anybody help explain this to me?

If it accomplishes anything at all, it surely reinforces the dangerously negativistic views of America to the Islamic world.
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Minstrel Boy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 04:46 PM
Response to Reply #65
68. Read the story from The Mirror last year, it explains a lot.
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paineinthearse Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 04:50 PM
Response to Original message
69. Not LBN
This was broken by the NY Times and carried in truthout.org a lonnnnnnggggg time ago. See http://www.truthout.org/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/7/3864/printer

What is new is that the source of this thread and a parallel thread (Yahoo news-based) made new releases.
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Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 05:20 PM
Response to Reply #69
70. The LBN-ness of the article is the announcement of a book
in preparation written by an American, "former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar."

Up until now, taking responsibility for these actions has been quite soundly avoided or ignored.

To reiterate the O.P.:
A rough manuscript obtained by The Associated Press is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a planned book that details ways the U.S. military used women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics to get terror suspects to talk.

It's the most revealing account so far of interrogations at the secretive detention camp, where officials say they have halted some controversial techniques.

"I have really struggled with this because the detainees, their families and much of the world will think this is a religious war based on some of the techniques used, even though it is not the case," the author, former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar, 29, told AP.
(snip)
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Just Me Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 06:08 PM
Response to Original message
74. The neoCONimperialists use a book designed to torture Islamic believers.
Yup. Those inhumane scum of the earth have a book upon which they base their torture "talking points". The "former Army Sgt. Erk R. Saar" obviously has no fucking clue about how offensive such tactics are to those who are Islam,...and clearly has no self-initiative to understand or care.

Our "sweet leader" masks the horrors of his company.

The neoCONimperialist tyrants have manipulated billions of taxpayer dollars towards "psy-op" camps/prisons subject to NO rules of law. The neoCONimperialists utilize ALL means of psychological distress and horror to gain POWER.

Yup. That is where hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars are being spent. AND, guess what,...the taxpayers won't know 'cause "matter of national security" will be spent on these warmongers' EXPENSIVE companies without any public knowledge.

*LOL* NO EXPLOITATION THERE!!!

:argh:
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oneold1-4u Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Fri Jan-28-05 06:54 PM
Response to Original message
76. Really really bad bad
The suggestion was made early on to make "dirty" bombs with Iowa hog farm liquid and soil well fertilized and feed them thick broth made from pork (maybe blood) or at least tell them that was what it was.
Once knew a muslim who mistakenly ate two bites of ham and finding out, went to BR and forced vomiting for an hour and drank enough water to do it over and over again. That was certainly as debilitating and humiliating as doing cruddy sex torture. Thousands of them would consider this one of the worst tortures. If it's about religion that they do the sex bit, how much worse would the pig thing be. We might even threaten to start hog farming over there and never waste another bomb!
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