Recently the Associated Press obtained a preliminary manuscript of a book written by a former Arabic translator who had worked at the U.S. military facilities in Guantánamo, Cuba from December 2002 to June 2003. Former Army Sgt. Erik R. Saar outlined some of the standard practices used at the prison to interrogate prisoners. The AP reported, “The manuscript is classified as secret pending a Pentagon review for a book Mr. Saar is writing about the military’s use of women as part of tougher physical and psychological interrogation tactics against terrorism suspects.”
“A female military interrogator who wanted to turn up the heat on a 21-year-old Saudi detainee who allegedly had taken flying lessons in Arizona before 9/11 removed her uniform top to expose a snug T-shirt,” wrote Maureen Dowd of The New York Times. “She began belittling the prisoner—who was praying with his eyes closed – as she touched her breasts, rubbed them against the Saudi’s back and commented on his apparent erection.”
Dowd reported that after the prisoner spat in her face, she left the room to ask a Muslim linguist how she could break the prisoner’s reliance on God. The linguist suggested she tell the prisoner that she was menstruating, touch him and then shut off the water in his cell so he couldn’t wash. “The concept was to make the detainee feel that after talking to her he was unclean and was unable to go before his God in prayer and gain strength,” Mr. Saar recounted, adding: “She then started to place her hands in her pants as she walked behind the detainee. As she circled around him he could see that she was taking her hand out of her pants.
The military will not comment on the incident, only saying that all interrogations are conducted within the confines of the law. However, with the appointment of cabinet members who have supported torture and soldiers being put behind bars despite the orders of their superiors who walk free, the question is posed: how far must we go to fight the war on terror?
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