An American Spy and an al Qaeda Martyr?!

In 2000, the Taliban seize a young Syrian in Afghanistan. They torture him until he confesses to being an American and Israeli spy. The Taliban shoves the guy in front of a camera confessing his crimes on Arab TV.

In 2001, the Americans invade and Abdul Rahim Al Ginco thinks his troubles have reached an end. Wrong. The Americans reportedly find another video (in the home of one of Ginco’s torturers) that show him confessing to being an al Qaeda martyr. The US hauls him off to Gitmo.

His lawyers have filed an habeas corpus appeal, so maybe he will get his day in a real court. And a bill just passed by Congress prohibits the use of evidence obtained by torture. But wait, the bill creating the military tribunals just passed by Congress sweeps away most appeals by Guantanamo prisoners, including Ginco’s already-filed appeal!

The NYT reports that Ginco suffered electric shocks to sensitive body parts, water-boarding, and sleep deprivation. Quiz: Was this torture performed by the Taliban, the US military (or perhaps a US surrogate)?

Used to be that you could say that the US government did not engage in torture, at least as a matter of public policy. Sadly, that is no longer the case. This administration has adopted torture as a policy. So, when you read a description of the treatment that Ginco received (from the Taliban in his case), you really don't have a clue whether it was done by our government or by people like the Taliban or the Khmer Rouge.