Lingering Effects

Abu Ghraib is not the only terrorist prison run by Americans. Inmates held at Guantanamo Bay experienced many of the same experiences as the prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Some of the interrogation techniques used at both prisons include sexual humiliation, denial of senses, the sense of sight being the most common, and waterboarding. Inmates at Guatanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were forced to listen to excessively loud music to induce sleep deprivation. Both of these prisons have come under great scrutiny in the last several years because of these interrogation techniques.

Many people criticize the CIA and military services for using irrelevant techniques on terrorist suspects or for interrogating suspects with not justifiable suspicion. Regardless of the motivation behind these crude interrogation techniques, they have serious impacts on the victims. The article “The Lingering Effects of Torture” by ABC news highlights some of these after-effects. One argument that is made in the article is about the combination of torture methods and how it can increase the long-term effects, such as post-traumatic stress disorder. A combination of methods might include being slapped, with one’s hands tied behind the back, while wearing a hood that prevented the victim from being able to see. While one of these three may not have significant effects, the combination of all three can drastically increase the likelihood of PTSD. This is clearly evident at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

We have seen from the video “Standard Operating Procedure” that many of the terrorist suspects had their hands tied behind their backs with sacks over their heads and were subject to various torture methods including sexual humiliation and sleep deprivation. None of the techniques used at these prisons appear to be conducive to the ultimate goal of ending the war on terrorism. Although it may be difficult to identify with the “enemy”, most people would agree that the techniques used by military personnel and the CIA at Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib were inhumane and quite unnecessary.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=7986990&page=2#.TsVFwBzKjV0