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StrangerThan -> RE: Bush Approved Use of Insects in al-Qaeda Interrogations (4/16/2009 10:20:30 PM)
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I read this article expecting much worse given the subject line. Honestly.. I'm not sure I understand the outrage over a caterpillar, and I'm grasping at straws trying to figure out why it is.. that newsworthy. As a part of the whole, I guess, but as the lead?
This is what I take from the story
"You [the CIA] would like to place Zubaydah in a cramped confinement box with an insect. You have informed us [the Department of Justice] that he appears to have a fear of insects. In particular, you would like to tell Zubaydah that you intend to place a stinging insect into the box with him. You would, however, place a harmless insect in the box. You have orally informed us that you would in fact place a harmless insect such as a catapiller in the box with him."
An additional sentence at the end of this paragraph is redacted in the copy made public Thursday. Later in the same memo, Bybee concludes that "an individual placed in a box, even an individual with a fear of insects, would not reasonably feel threatened with severe physical pain or suffering if a caterpiller was placed in the box." Bybee adds, however, that the interrogators should not tell Zubaydah that the insect sting "would produce death or severe pain."
Someone help me because I fail to see torture in that. Before you bring out the Bush bats, understand I didn't like the man either, didn't like what was done at gitmo, didn't like gitmo's existence.
Fuck, I did worse things to my mom when I was a kid like... waiting until she was in the shower then tossing a black snake in the bathroom or the time I caught a snapping turtle about the size of a washtub and convinced my brother to lie down in the yard screaming to get her to run out on the same porch I parked it. And ya know how women used to wear them big bun hairdos? Well, if you're very careful, you can drop things like birdseed, breadcrumbs, you know, edibles in it when they're not paying attention. Makes watching your mom stand outside talking to people interesting when birds start dive bombing.
I'm trying here. Is it because he was afraid of insects that makes this outrageous enough to be worthy of a story lead in Time and a thread lead here?
I was kind of expecting something like, maybe, strapping him down in a box full of black widows, sand fleas, scorpions, wasps, african honey bees something. Dunno.
Maybe it's too late and I've traveled too much today to see the torture involved with a caterpillar - especially among people who enjoy a good mind fuck.
Now, if it was one of those big tobacco worms, I might could undertand that. Those fuckers sting the hell out of you.
Who ever mentioned above that Germany treated our prisoners well during the second one, I got a widow you can talk to about good treatment.
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