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Time to Rethink Iraqâs Prison Policy
First paragraphThe revelations about the treatment of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Graibh prison indicate the Armyâs problems that are far more widespread and serious than we have seen. This observation is based on experience, not theory. I served as a Marine officer flying F-4âs in Vietnam. I was also my squadronâs avionics officer and ground defense platoon leader, with 110 enlisted men under my command. I have had to make command decisions, including command decisions in combat. I was also shot down over North Vietnam, captured, and held as a prisoner of war for five and a half years. ... Last two paragraphs The first step in this effort is to discredit the idea that coercion will produce useful and reliable intelligence. As a former POW, I can attest to this reality. In an interrogation that lasted from May 5 until September 2, 1969, I was repeatedly tortured for information that I did not have. I had lied to the interrogator, in an effort to harm him with his superiors, and led the Communists to believe we could communicate between camps. They wanted to know how we did this. They spent untold resources trying to stop this communication, which did not exist. In the course of the interrogation, the officer began asking me unrelated questions that I had answered before. I gave him different answers this time. It infuriated him. He threatened to torture me. I reminded him that he already was doing that. He sputtered that he would force me to tell the truth. I told him he could not know if I were telling the truth. If you have a reliable source of information to corroborate what a prisoner tells you, you run the risk of discrediting that source, since the prisoner will probably lie to you. If you have no way to check the prisonerâs story, you cannot rely on it. Either way, you get nothing from torture except the undying hatred of the prisoner. And, if the torture is discovered, you bring contention to your cause. Mistreating prisoners is a losing proposition. Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-05-25 |
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