The American torture story must be told

Blocking all Muslims from entering the United States, mandatory registration of ordinary American Muslims in their homeland, denial of refugees from all over the world seeking sanctuary at our shores and a reprisal of waterboarding and internment camps. Public figures are suggesting these cruel policies as we mark the one-year anniversary of the landmark Senate torture report. The crimes described in that document should be a jolting reminder of the devastating consequences of fear-based, knee jerk-policies. Instead of engaging in a Groundhog Day-like repetition of past abuses, U.S. officials should ensure they are never repeated.

The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence last year produced more than 6,000 pages describing the findings of its investigation into CIA torture. Only a small portion was made available to the public, but it was enough to turn the stomach. The pages read like a horror story, and are filled with tales of mock executions, forced nudity, sodomy and other sexual assault, simulated drowning and more. One man literally froze to death during his torture. Others were left with devastating physical and psychological injuries that persist to this day.

{mosads}As just one example, a man named Mustafa al-Hawsawi is described in the report, and he suffered many abuses while detained in CIA custody. The report revealed that some detainees were subjected to excessively forceful rectal examination. Al-Hawsawi’s torture resulted in permanent injury, and he remains in Guantanamo with a torn rectum and without access to proper medical care. I’ll spare you the explicit details and consequences of the cruel treatment he suffered.

Stunningly, this landmark report is still sitting in an envelope, locked away in a vault. The Justice Department appears not to have even read and reviewed the full report for itself (keep in mind it is the Department’s mandate to investigate misconduct by federal officials, which includes evidence of torture). Worse than that, the Justice Department is also barring other federal agencies from reading it. So rather than reviewing this groundbreaking report, the Obama administration is allowing it to collect dust in a locked safe.

Perhaps most chilling is the fact that the new chairman of the panel that produced the report, Sen. Burr (R-N.C.), is trying a new tactic to prevent the full torture report from being released. Dismissing the report’s importance, he is asking that the administration return all copies, unread. There are well-founded fears he may seek to have these copies destroyed, barring the complete story from ever getting out.

This story can’t be buried. Torture is illegal, with no exceptions, and is counter to every value that the United States espouses and urges other countries to uphold. Using torture threatens the very foundation upon which this nation purports to stand and ruins international credibility. It should never, ever be used again. Yet many still attempt to defend the use of torture, and current presidential candidates have suggested they wouldn’t hesitate to resurrect the program. Particularly in a climate of fear, it is not impossible to imagine the American torture story being repeated in the future.

This is why it is so vital to read the report. It is a cautionary tale about what happens when policies are based not in human rights and the rule of law, but instead based in fear. It is a reminder that those who were tortured have names and stories and inherent rights against such abuses just by virtue of their humanity. It is a story of crimes and moral failings, and a warning not to repeat that dark chapter in history.

It’s been a full year since the story came out. The Obama administration should change course and stop burying this report. It’s not enough to know that the report exists and to simply acknowledge, as President Obama said, “we tortured some folks.” It is vital to read it, review it, and learn from it. That is the only way to make sure it never happens again. Torture should not be an option, no matter what. Otherwise, the shared values which make us truly secure are in danger of disappearing. And that would be the scariest story of all.

Beavers is Policy and Activism coordinator with Amnesty International USA’s Security with Human Rights program.