American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination

[Joanne98]

One of the best books ever wrote on the American torture system.


http://www.amazon.com/American-Methods-Torture-Logic-Domination/dp/0896087530

Recently, I had the pleasure of reading the new book by Kristian Williams: American Methods: Torture and the Logic of Domination on South End Press. We had Kristian on the show last week, and you can listen the audio on the Against the Grain website.

First, let me tell you a little about the book. In the book American Methods, Kristian argues that Abu Ghraib is not that work of a few “bad apples” but is a symptom of a larger system that not only encourages and enables such abuses, but uses torture and abuse strategically both at home and abroad. Throughout the book, Kristian uses testimony from detainees and torture victims, soldiers and police who have participated in torture, and witnesses such as interpreters to provide a detailed and well documented picture of torture and other abuses. These make up some of the more than 300 documented complaints of abuse from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Guantanamo. While only 280 pages, this exhaustively researched book contains over 750 end notes and provides a clear analysis of how policy decisions made by the Bush Administration shortly after September 11 regarding strict and limited use of some torture techniques migrated from Guantanamo Bay to Afghanistan to Iraq, escalating along the way. American Methods firmly situates these policy decisions in a historical context, convincingly arguing that the foundation for Abu Ghraib was laid long before Bush. Not only does Kristian conclusively show that the U.S. has violated international law, he spends an entire chapter discussing the possible moral justifications for torture - and then debunks them. I found this discussion fascinating and felt it made his arguments stronger.

http://jenangel.wordpress.com/2007/05/02/american-methods-kristian-williams/

[Joanne98]

1. Here's his website

http://www.kristianwilliams.com/

[Joanne98]

2. Here's a picture of him.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/newportpubliclibrary/2458075216/

[mmonk]

3. Yes, we have been violating international law in our 40 year

old war of domination over the third world (and longer in Latin America). I guess the difference is that now instead of working in the shadows, we are codififying it into our laws in violation of our constitutional premise and affiming war crimes while disaffirming Nuremberg.