Felicity Arbuthnot: The “Contract Interrogator”

2007-02-13 | “I have thought some of nature's journeymen had made men and not made them too well, they imitated humanity so abominably.” (Shakespeare: Hamlet.) “The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them but to be indifferent to them; that is the essence of inhumanity.” (George Bernard Shaw: The Devil's Disciple.) The “Contract Interrogator” Writing in the Washington Post (9th February 2007) Eric Fairm writes of: “an interrogator's nightmare”. “A man with no face stares at me from the corner of a room. He pleads for help, but I am afraid to move. He begins to cry. It is a pitiful sound and it sickens me. He screams, but as I awaken, I realize the screams are mine.” Fairm is plagued by nightmares. He was a “contract interrogator”, for the 82nd Airborne Division, in Falluja during part of 2004, one “... of two civilian interrogators, assigned to the division interrogation facility”. The man who returns to torment his dreams was “... a suspected associate” of a Ba'ath Party leader in Anbar province... who had been captured two months earlier”. In other words, he was a possible pan-Arab nationalist, living in his own country. “Nationalist” becomes a pejorative word when used by Western politicians, in fact, it has the same meaning as patriot (“a person who vigorously supports his country and its way of life”, Collins.) . The haunted Mr Fairm has “long since forgotten” the name of his nocturnal visitor - something one would have thought might also haunt - but not his instructions: “I was to deprive the detainee of sleep .. forcing him to stand in a corner and stripping him of his clothes.” There will be many that will applaud honesty in admitting Abu Ghraib-like torment, “mistakes” and failing to “uphold the standards of human decency”. Instead: “I intimidated, degraded a man who could not defend himself”, writes Fairm. He also watched naked prisoners, forced to stand through the night, shivering; saw degradation, deprivation, punching, kicking “used daily”. “Appalled”, he admits lacking the courage to stand up and challenge “friends and colleagues”. With “friends” like these ... Fairm argues, that unless “myriad mistakes” are addressed “there can be no hope of success in Iraq.” One thing is clear, the man does need help. There is no hope of success in Iraq. Popping round with $2,500 a head (seemingly the current going rate) for blowing families to bits in their beds and blasting their homes over them, or blowing in the door of the family home, to invade in boots, then say “sorry”, or visit the family of the illegally snatched detainee (you are illegal invaders, please remember) is not going to win hearts and minds in millennia. The “damage” done to the people of Iraq, described, hardly addresses the enormity. “Damage” is car dent, a cracked window, an accidental act, not pre-meditated torment, physical damage, physical assault and humiliation. Fairm and his colleagues were surely taught some of the laws that apply, in war - and pertaining to illegal invasions - he had, statedly, been formerly in the army (1995-2000.) “Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law, if carried out as a widespread or systematic attack on any civilian population is a crime against humanity.” The Charter of the International Criminal Court of 1998. It could have been written for the actions of America's latest rampage. Further: “Cruel treatment (including) outrages on personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment”, are banned under any circumstances, including against enemy soldiers who have laid down their arms, civilians, or even common criminals.” Geneva Convention of 1949. Fairly robust are the 1907 Hague Regulations (see Article 44) “.. a belligerant, is forbidden to force the inhabitants of territory occupied by it to furnish information about the army of the other belligerant, or about its means of defence.” Imprisonment as a form of persecution, directed against the civilian population on political, racial or religious grounds, is a crime against humanity. Prisoners must be protected, fed, clothed and humanely treated. Not stripped, beaten, degraded and assaulted. Ironically the U.S. State Department's Reports on other parts of the world, talk of torture “remaining wide spread”. Indeed. Not throwing stones in glass houses comes to mind. Many of the methods employed by the U.S, in Iraq (and Afghanistan) since the invasions, bear no difference to the Serb run camp at Omarska (news, websites) which shocked the world and resulted in the first war crimes trial since Nuremburg. Charges included war crimes and crimes against humanity. Since it seems that Mr Fairm did not bone up on any of the legalities with which he was obliged to comply, it is possible to speculate he did not research the tragedy of the country he went to as a “contract interrogator”, i.e., a mercenary (Collins: “influenced by greed or desire for gain”, from which the term comes. Just eight entries below is “merciless”: “without mercy, pitiless, cruel or heartless”.) Here are some random facts of the U.N. embargo, driven primarily by his country, had wrought (implemented Hiroshima Day 1990.) *By 1993 infant and child mortality had increased threefold (UNICEF, July 1993.) *By 1994 the World Food Programme (WFP) stated : “... all the prefamine indicators are now in place”. *By 1995 WFP: “Time is running out for the children of Iraq.” *1996 : UNICEF: “One third of surviving children now suffered stunted growth and/or impaired intelligence due to malnutrition.” *1997 Iraqi Ministry of Health, agreed by UNICEF stated 1,211,285 “embargo related child deaths between August 1990 and November 1997. *1998: February (Re: another illegal bombing) “There will be far fewer bombing runs than in the Gulf War - probably less than four hundred a day”, senior US Officer, *1999 : UNICEF: Iraq has the highest infant mortality rate on earth. Length constraints restrict further on Western democracy's decimation. Search engines abound. Notably, missing from Eric Fairm's heart-pourings is any real remorse. An outpour which must, of course, be taken at face value and can only be hoped is not another psyops effort, to pave the way for those who will surely be soon being helicoptered off the Green Zone and Embassy roof, as Viet Nam (if the resistance has left a roof to leave from) and show a now cynical America that deviant behavior is really “post traumatic stress disorder”. “I am desperate to get on with my life and erase my memories of my experiences in Iraq. But those memories and experiences do not belong to me. They belong to history”, concludes Fairm. Try being an Iraqi. One way to assuage the conscience, might be to board a 'plane for the International Criminal Court at the Hague, give yourself up, with a list of the names of your “friends and colleagues” with you. Remember too, those who hanged as a result of the Nuremberg Tribunals were: “only following orders”. Just contract killers and “contract interrogators”. (Legal references: Crimes of War, Edited Gutman, Rief and Dworkin, Norton.) http://www2.wwnorton.com/catalog/fall06/032846.htm Felicity Arbuthnot Felicity Arbuthnot is a journalist and activist who has visited the Arab and Muslim world on numerous occasions. She has written and broadcast on Iraq, her coverage of which was nominated for several awards. She was also senior researcher for John Pilger's award-winning documentary "Paying the Price: Killing the Children of Iraq". http://www.johnpilger.com/page.asp?partID=4 and author, with Nikki van der Gaag, of “Baghdad” in the “Great Cities” series, for World Almanac Books (2006.) http://www.amazon.com/Baghdad-Great-Cities-World-Nikki/dp/0836850491/sr=1-5/qid=1171018142/ref=sr_1_5/105-9176229-7042804?ie=UTF8&s=books