Full Description
Revelations about U.S. torture and prisoner abuse in blatant violation of the long-established and universally recognized Geneva Conventions have horrified most Americans. Nevertheless, it has been argued that the high stakes of the War on Terror have made the protections offered by the Conventions obsolete, or that the abuses are the work of a few rogue soldiers and officers. This book reaches past the headlines into the historical record to document POW torture and also domestic prisoner abuse dating well back in our history as well as government and military knowledge of and collusion in such ostensibly illegal and reprehensible acts. Is torture and prisoner abuse justified in the name of some greater good? As a society we shall have to decide. The historical record presented here can contribute much to an informed national discussion.
Timeline anchoring the discussion in time and place
Bibliography of print and Internet resources guiding further exploration of the subject
Charts and tables analyzing complex data, including survey results
Contents
Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction: Describing the Problem Chapter 2: Torture and Its Origins Chapter 3: Prison Abuse in the U.S. Pre-Civil Rights Era Chapter 4: The Central Intelligence Agency and Torture Chapter 5: Domestic Prison Abuse Today Chapter 6: Abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, and Iraq Chapter 7: Summing It Up Appendix: Timeline of Significant Events in the History of Torture and Prisoner Abuse Further Readings Bibliography
