New Abu Ghraib Torture Photos
WARNING: Nudity & Graphic Images
Disturbing new photos have been posted on Wired with accompanying video from a lecture on Abu Ghraib by psychologist Philip Zimbardo. The interview article, How People Turn Evil, From Stanford to Abu Ghraib, provides a fascinating look into human psychology. For ease of viewing the photos are posted below:
Keep in mind that this is the doing of the U.S. military and C.I.A., paid for by your tax dollars, under the management of President Bush, and that GOP presidential front runner John McCain wants to continue the mission in Iraq. McCain also recently voted to continue torture practices:
Olbermann on McCain
Horrendous crimes occur in all wars. The decision to commit to war or vote to support war is the acknowledgment that rapes, mutilations, and torture will occur because of it, and reasoning behind such a decision must weigh those consequences. The threat posed by Iraq certainly did not qualify, and those Americans who supported the Bush administration’s march to war are all culpable, including those who voted Republican in 2004.
As Zimbardo states in his interview, “situations can be sufficiently powerful to undercut empathy, altruism, morality and to get ordinary people, even good people, to be seduced into doing really bad things”. The current presidential election has the potential to be such a situation, and voting for the Republican nominee in November is a vote to continue the Iraq war, perpetuating the horrible crimes that occur because of it.
This is the symbol of America under Republican leadership.
We should be proud of our armed forces and those who protect our nation through intelligence gathering. It is the Republicans that have created a situation that turns good people evil. Vote for the grown ups. Vote Democratic.
See also:
- Iraq War: Why Defunding is Politically Viable
- U.S. Soldiers Torturing Animals
- Canada Adds U.S.A. to Torture List
- President Bush’s Mukasey Approves of Torture
- Waterboarding: The New American Crawl
- Mukasey: U.S. Military Has Never Waterboarded
- Romney OK’s Torture With Knives
All photos from Wired
Stumble it!
You’ve got this entirely wrong.
First off, McCain was the first one to speak out against abu ghraib, being a POW himself for many years. The “torture” you say he voted on was more in the lines of interrogation (if you claim all interrogation tactics are “torture” then you and i totally operate on a different sheet of music… sleep deprivation and blaring barney songs, while incredibly annoying isn’t considered torture in my mind).
As for the US military continuing these horrible acts - You’ve got that skewed too. THe greatest critics and the most in depth examination that was done about Abu Ghraib was done by the US Military. You’ll note (if you care) that there hasnt been an Abu Ghraib since. If anything our us military is seen as “weak” (by iraqi standards) because of how kind we are to our POW’s.
These pictures are certainly not new. I saw these shortly after I enlisted and the people in those photographs was used as an example of what we should not, cannot do. No matter the heat of battle we do not allow ourselves or our commerades to do that. Abu Ghraib was universally condemned by the military, if you’re going to use Abu Ghraib as the only source of how the war in iraq is going … then that would be me judging the entire civil rights movement by the actions of the black panthers.
This was due to bad leaders, bad training and bad supervision.
See the whole picture.
They are torturing U.S. Citizens! Google or myspace Darren Gelbard. Accused the USA of 9/11 in 2002 and 2004 and was tortured.
You know, this country wasn’t built on hugs and ass kissing. You may agree or disagree on what should have been done or not done. But hindsight is always 20/20. We pulled out of Afghanistan in the 80s, let that country go to more shambles than it was already in, and create an enemy in Bin Laden, who like the rest of the Muhjadeen (sp?) actually welcomed America when it was fighting Russia. We created our own enemy when we abandoned Afghanistan in the 80s and American credibility went to nothing for them. What do you think will happen if we do the same thing here? You notice that CNN and MSNBC and the New York Times isn’t talking about the war anymore? Hmmmmm gosh when the war goes bad, lets impeach Bush. When its not, lets find another horse to beat to death.
The only way you are even allowed to say what you can say is because someone died for it. You spout “Support the Troops” and then you curse war. You don’t get to have your cake and eat it too. Do you need bombs going off outside your door to understand WHY sometimes you have to actually fight and maybe die for something? Go hang out in Tel Aviv for awhile and tell me how you like it.
I am not condoning decisions that were made, nor am I going to condemn Bush because only time will tell what history will write about him. I just hope it is based on the resulting FACTS of his presidency and not written by people like you who want to let the minority speak over the majority. Liberalism ideals of “oh lets make everyone happy and lets not fight” makes me sick. Maybe you need to hang out at Ground Zero for awhile so you can remember how you felt on September 12, 2001. Clinton had the office for 8 years even through the first WTC attack….Bush had office 8 months before 9/11. Oh yeah….Clinton was GREATTTT…..he did a whole lot to keep that from happening.
I am a 20 something Junior in college. I voted for Bush in 2004. Do I agree with some of his decisions? Certainly not. In fact, I thought from the get go Iraq was going to be messy. But spare me this hippy crap. Radical Islamics don’t quite see things our way…they want our entire way of life destroyed. Democrats don’t have the salt to do assert that we won’t stand for terrorism on our soil…they are too busy trying not to offend anyone.
So go read a history book and realize that we didn’t get to where we are but not stepping on someone’s toes a few times.
Cameron,
Your argument is so off I’m not sure where to begin. Let’s focus on a few of your written statements:
1. “You spout ‘Support the Troops’ and then you curse the war”
-Where do you read ’support the troops? I wrote that we should be proud of military and intelligence personal who do our governments bidding. That’s appreciation, not support.
2. Even if this article did espouse supporting the troops and not the war, if you can’t understand the difference between people and policy you need to take a break from the television.
3. Abusing human beings is not ’stepping on someone’s toes’. It makes me sick to think you dovetail those two notions.
4. The media certainly should be talking about the Iraq war, they simply have election-goggles on, so there I agree with you.
5. Your argument that immorality and torture have paved the way to our rights is illogical. It was much more than wars that led to our rights. Wars are not direct stepping stones to freedom of speech, and shame on you for thinking in such myopic paradigm.
6. Adding your age to your post is a bit redundant as your comments were obviously written by a young person without much experience in the world. Graduate, get a job, live a little, then think a while before posting comments. We’ll be making the world better for you while you grow up.
Darren Gelbard accused USA of 9/11 legal and was tortured.myspace Darren Gelbard
How can anyone let people being tortured like this. It is a shameful act. Nobody even our so called ememy deserve to be treated like this.