A conservative (but anti-Bush) blogger wondered where the term ‘enhanced interrogation’ came from, a reader told him:
Well, “enhanced interrogation techniques” is a fairly decent English translation of the Gestapo euphemism “verschaerfte Vernehmung” which was the code word for torture in the Third Reich.
On investigation it was revealed-
It’s a phrase that appears to have been concocted in 1937, to describe a form of torture that would leave no marks, and hence save the embarrassment pre-war Nazi officials were experiencing as their wounded torture victims ended up in court.
It was found the victims were not uniformed, the techniques at first did not include waterboarding (the Nazis were more humane than Bush) but eventually the full range were included and after the war a Norwegian court trying some torturers found all their lies and excuses were no mitigation and sentenced them to death.
the interrogation methods approved and defended by this president are not new. Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used by the president to describe torture-that-isn’t-somehow-torture – “enhanced interrogation techniques” – is a term originally coined by the Nazis. The techniques are indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death.
This is worth noting because as I type this I am listening to Democracy Now! with interviews about psychologists who cooperate in torture and one (Dr. Nina Thomas) who still defends her role with the APA, enabling torture. So let’s just reiterate the courts finding to all the interrogators their superiors and their enablers in the media
There was no mitigation and they were sentenced to death.
28 June, 2007 at 11:21 pm
[...] that’s not how the Nuremburg Tribunals saw it! RickB reminds the shrinks and medics who collaborate with America’s “Enhanced [...]
1 July, 2007 at 6:43 pm
and you thought Germans have stopped?
1 July, 2007 at 7:19 pm
Hey Naj, that sounds horrible, but increasingly I see psychologists who are involved in interrogation and control.
There’s good stuff about them at the psyche/analyst links in my blogroll.
11 July, 2007 at 10:17 pm
[...] to remember how disgustingly evil humans can be because when we don’t, we get ‘enhanced interrogation‘ and pre-emptive war propagated as a just defensive war and… oh you get the point. [...]
1 August, 2007 at 1:31 am
[...] as ever remember this. Posted in American Torture, Corruption, Medicine, Human [...]
20 August, 2007 at 8:54 pm
[...] just must not have read that when the Nazis coinded the term ‘enhanced interrogation’ (“verschaerfte Vernehmung” ) and implemtented it, after the war those tried were found to have no mitigation for the torture [...]
7 September, 2007 at 6:51 pm
[...] if you are in on it, get out now. Otherwise plan for some jail time scumbag and thank your god the Norwegians ain’t running the court. Posted in State Terror, The War On Terror Scam, American Torture, Bush Crime Family, War [...]
9 October, 2007 at 12:08 am
The preemptive invasion of Afghanistan was and is a war crime, Crimes Against Peace, as defined by the Nuremberg International War Crimes findings of 1950, to which the USA is a signatory.
A reporter asked the FBI Agent in Charge of Counter-Terrorism why Osama bin Ladens information on America’s Ten Most Wanted list do not contain the crimes of 911 on the WTC and the Pentagon. The Agent responded that the FBI has no direct evidence that Osama bin Laden had anything to do with 911 which begs the question: What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan?
9 October, 2007 at 12:09 am
The War on Terror is The War on Truth.
9 October, 2007 at 12:40 am
Hello John, thanks for stopping by & commenting, can’t argue with anything you’ve said. In a way I think Afghanistan while it had some of the usual geopolitical objectives (resources, territory, pipeline) it was a softening up for the real war (Iraq) and also just an anguished act of violence on an easy target (in terms of a quick victory, occupation is another story and one the media never finds as exciting as invasion action) in sheer revenge for the 911 attacks, however misplaced that may be. From the outset the administration have been dishonest, remember the ‘Brooks brothers riot’ to stop the election count. I suppose sooner or later an empire succumbs to dynastic rule and coups.
As millenniums go this one has started really badly!
19 March, 2008 at 12:48 am
[...] regime (as named above) have succeeded in making the same alterations as the Nazis made. ‘Enhanced interrogation‘, ‘abuse’ and often just ‘interrogation’ are the newspeak memes to [...]
30 April, 2008 at 9:07 pm
[...] 30 April, 2008 — RickB Not quite a paperclip, but maybe he helped develop those ‘enhanced interrogations‘. It was 1941, and an 18-year-old Jew had been sent to the clinic with a foot inflammation. [...]