US Torture Worldwide

Introduction

“ Throughout the world, on any given day, a man, woman or child is likely to be displaced, tortured, killed or "disappeared", at the hands of governments or armed political groups. More often than not, the United States shares the blame.”

– Amnesty International, in its annual report on U.S. military aid and human rights, 1996.

Torture has always been an important part of American culture, both at home and abroad. The CIA has constantly been involved in torture, often supplying expertise and equipment to its friends around the world. The situation in American prisons is not so different from what happened (and probably still does) in Abu Ghraib.

The US has been involved in torture in the following countries (among others): Brazil; Chile; Colombia; El Salvador; Guatemala; Greece; Haiti; Honduras; Iraq; Indonesia; Iran; Nicaragua ; Philippines; Uruguay.

Extraordinary rendition

Extraordinary rendition is a procedure practiced by the government of the United States (and possibly aided by other countries) whereby criminal suspects are sent to countries in which torture is routinely used in interrogation. Critics have suggested this amounts to torture by proxy.

As described in various reports in the media, suspects have been arrested, blindfolded, shackled, and sedated, and transported by private jet or other means to the destination country. The reports also say that U.S. agencies have provided interrogators with lists of questions. Although Egypt has been the most common destination, suspected terrorists have been rendered to other countries, such as Jordan, Syria, Morocco, and Uzbekistan.

In a number of cases, suspects to whom the procedure is believed to have been applied later appeared to be innocent.

According to former CIA agent Bob Baer, "If you want a serious interrogation, you send a prisoner to Jordan. If you want them to be tortured, you send them to Syria. If you want someone to disappear – never to see them again – you send them to Egypt." (America's gulag by Stephen Grey, 17 May 2004.)

School of the Americas

The School of the Americas (SOA), in 2001 renamed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation", is a combat training school for Latin American soldiers, located at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Initially established in Panama in 1946, it was kicked out of that country in 1984 under the terms of the Panama Canal Treaty. Former Panamanian President, Jorge Illueca, stated that the School of the Americas was the "biggest base for destabilization in Latin America." The SOA, frequently dubbed the "School of Assassins", has left a trail of blood and suffering in every country where its graduates have returned.

Over its 59 years, the SOA has trained over 60,000 Latin American soldiers in counterinsurgency techniques, sniper training, commando and psychological warfare, military intelligence and interrogation tactics. These graduates have consistently used their skills to wage a war against their own people. Among those targeted by SOA graduates are educators, union organizers, religious workers, student leaders, and others who work for the rights of the poor. Hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans have been tortured, raped, assassinated, 'disappeared', massacred, and forced into refugee by those trained at the School of Assassins.

– School of the Americas watch.