Reply #20: Abu Ghraib abuse analyzed by a CIA MKULTRA survivor

[Minstrel Boy]

A four-part reflection on torture of Iraqi prisoners by a survivor of CIA trauma-induced mind control, Kathleen Harris:


Our stories are no less real than those of the Iraqi prisoners. Unfortunately, we are less likely to be believed by fellow citizens because our abuse was perpetrated – most often – by government employees within the borders of our countries. We were innocent civilians, not war prisoners. And what was done to most of us was much worse than what most of the Iraqi prisoners have unfortunately endured. (This is like comparing apples and oranges; both experiences are solid and real and directly related. Therefore, such a comparison is really a matter of the degree of trauma and torture and sexual degradation experienced by each survivor. Regardless of the degree, however, trauma is trauma. Every trauma is horrible, whether it lasts a day or a year or for decades.) The psychological scars and other results of the traumas we’ve endured are just as legitimate and consistent as the visible and invisible scars of the Iraqi prisoners, who will carry them in their minds and bodies – some, for the remainder of their lives. Deep humiliation and terror and rage cannot be conveniently erased when one is freed by ones tormentors.

As you read North American survivors’ reports, I challenge you to compare them with the reports of prisoner abuse and murder that are coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Remember, we made our stories public long before these revelations began emerging from Iraq. As you compare the reports, you may be horrified to discover that this kind of sadistic abuse is not an aberration. It is, in fact, historical and ongoing.

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Some survivors have reported that these reports and photos triggered strong flashbacks and powerful emotions that temporarily disabled them, leaving them unable to socialize and perform life duties as well as they normally might.

My own reactions were equally powerful. I cried more during this past two months, than I have in years. I experienced strong bouts of depression and alternating periods of great manic energy. Both seemed to be generated by my strong feelings of outrage: our government is still hurting others in some of the same ways that we North American mind-control survivors have been hurt!