I. "Mass Killing in the Name of God" (International Peace Bureau, January 13, 2015)
"It is time to forcefully confront violent extremism and fundamentalism, wherever it manifests itself. It's time to stop pointing at 'the others' and to confront the extremism in our own backyard, whether it is from our own beliefs or attitudes or is manifested by other groups in our neighborhood. In this context it is important to find a way to set aside religious or para-religious that make 'infidels' or 'blasphemous' justified targets.
An even deeper challenge is to strengthen our work to overcome the division in the world between the 'haves' and the 'have-nots.' Analyses shows that social injustice and inequality are not only ills in themselves but also hamper development and give rise to violence and armed conflict.
The present confrontation between radical elements in the Muslim world and the more secular West plays into the hands of militant minorities on both sides. Furthermore, it benefits those who seize the opportunity to call for more spending on the military and more aggressive and militant policies. There is a serious danger that states will use current events to increase their surveillance of all activists and citizens instead of only those who present a serious risk. Acknowledging the equality and interdependence of all people in our globalized world should help open the eyes to the need for dialogue, mutual respect and understanding.
There is another dimension that is receiving much less coverage in mainstream media. The major world powers are in many ways themselves responsible for the growth in Islamist militancy, on the account of:
* the long history of colonial domination of the Middle East and the Muslim world generally, and the support for the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands;
* the role of the US arming and funding the Afghan mujahideen against the USSR -- who then became major figures in the Taliban and Al Qaeda, and are now operating in Syria and elsewhere.
* the devastating 'war on terror' which has caused enormous death and suffering in Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya and around the Islamic world; and which is at the same time imposing draconian restrictions on human rights and freedom, notably in the area of international migration.
* the persistent tendency -- especially in sections of the mass media -- to demonize the whole world to suggest that all Hindus and Muslims are a threat to democratic values."
II. The Specious Genesis of U.S. Torture Policy
On November 13, 2001, George W. Bush, acting as President and Commander-in-Chief, signed a military order concerning the "Detention, Treatment, and Trial of Certain Non-Citizens in the War Against Terrorism." Suspected terrorists who are not citizens were to be detained at an appropriate location designated by the Secretary of Defense. If brought to trial, they were to be tried and sentenced by a military commission. No member of the commission need be a lawyer. Ordinary military rules would not apply, nor would the laws of war.
Suspected terrorists could be imprisoned without charge, denied knowledge of the evidence against them, and, if tried, convicted and sentenced by courts, incarcerated under no established rules. Bush didn't want to call detainees, criminals, because criminals have rights; they couldn't be called prisoners of war, because prisoners of war have rights under international law. So the Bush administration invented a new classification: "unlawful combatants."
Any pretense of a legal process hinged on a 50-page memo issued by the Department of Justice, signed by Jay S. Bybee, but probably written by the more notorious John Yoo. The memo purported to draw a distinction between acts that are "cruel, inhuman, or degrading," and acts that constitute torture. In essence, the Bush administration envisioned creating for the first time a permanent legal structure under the president's sole command. [1]
Footnotes
[1] Jill Lepore, "The Dark Ages," The New Yorker, March 11, 2013.
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