HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK ---------------------------
It is reminiscent of the way a bag or hood is often put over the head of someone about to be hanged. It makes the victim less human and less easy to identify with, and also spares spectators the sight of the victim's facial convulsions during hanging. In the same way, victims of firing squads are blindfolded or hooded to stop them staring at their executioners and perhaps spoiling their aim. Steve K. __________________________________________ >From: Stasi <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] >To: Anti-NATO <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >CC: LeftNet Post <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >Subject: Afg: Spare our blushes and put a sack on it - Terry Jones >(Observer) [WWW.STOPNA >Date: Sat, 5 Jan 2002 13:43:53 -0000 > >HTTP://WWW.STOPNATO.ORG.UK >--------------------------- > >Spare our blushes and put a sack on it > >Taping a bag over the heads of Afghan prisoners stops us feeling anything >for them, so we can breakfast in peace > >War on terrorism: Observer special >War in Afghanistan: Observer special > >Terry Jones >Sunday January 6, 2002 >The Observer > >I was thrilled to see a photo in the New York Times last week showing US >troops guarding prisoners suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda in Shibarghan, >Afghanistan. The story that accompanied the picture described how the 101st >Airborne Division had been ordered to relieve the Marine Corps in southern >Afghanistan, paving the way for a long-term military presence in the >country. > >The photo also appeared in the Times here, but neither paper mentioned the >part of the photo that got me so excited as President of the Humane Society >for Putting Bags Over Suspects' Heads. The photograph clearly showed that >the prisoners suspected of belonging to al-Qaeda had their arms pinioned >behind them and had bags over their heads, secured with metallic tape. We >in HSPBOSH have been trying for years to get more armies to put bags over >the heads of anyone they suspect of anything. For one thing, the placing of >a bag over the heads of suspects protects those of us who are not involved >from unpleasant feelings of sympathy for the prisoners. There is nothing >more offensive to ordinary, law-abiding newspaper-readers than seeing rows >of sorry-looking peasants being herded into the backs of cattle-trucks by >our lads in the Army. The prisoners often looked frightened, dejected and >hungry, and how can anyone eat a decent full breakfast over photos like >that? > >Once a bag has been placed over their heads, however, it is impossible to >feel much for them. They cease to be human-beings and as such make no >unreasonable call upon our emotions. The placing of a bag over the >suspects' head also has another highly desirable effect: it makes them all >look guilty. One cannot see a man with a bag over his head without feeling >that he must have deserved it, and that anything he has got coming to him >is only what he ought to expect. > >The same probably goes for the person with the bag over their head. I've >never had it done to me personally, but I believe the effect is very >disorientating. A prisoner with the bag over his head ceases to feel human >as well as look it, and deprivation of sight, smell and balance encourages >him expect the worst. > >And this, of course, brings us to the economic argument for putting heads >in bags. Once a suspect has been trussed-up, had the bag placed over their >head, and been driven around in the back of a cattle truck for a bit, >they'll usually confess to anything. This saves a lot of time, effort and - >most importantly - money in trying to sort out terrorists from ordinary >blokes whom the Army has rounded up because they had unpleasant beards and >bad haircuts. > >This is one of the reasons why the British Government was so keen on >putting bags over the heads of IRA suspects in the early 1970s. It was very >economically effective. Of course those spoilsports at the European Court >of Human Rights put a spanner in the works in 1978 when they outlawed the >technique, claiming that it 'amounted to a practice of inhuman and >degrading treatment'. In other words they said it was a form of torture. > >Luckily the US is not bound by any soft-centred decisions of the European >Court of Human Rights. In fact the US also needn't take any notice of the >United Nations Convention against Torture either, because it was one of the >few countries that had the sense not to sign the agreement in 1985. >Argentina, Belgium, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, >Finland, France, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, >Senegal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and Uruguay made the mistake of signing >it, and subsequently Venezuela, Luxembourg, Panama, Austria and even the UK >and Afghanistan joined in, but America didn't. > >Lucky for them. Now we can see how it's paying off. The US Army can put >bags over the heads of whoever they like. But what really excited us at >HSPBOSH was the fact that the editors of the New York Times and the London >Times could publish the photograph of Afghanistani suspects with bags over >their heads without making any comment at all. > >Let's hope this means that the British and American public is finally ready >to accept the fact that the only faces that matter are British and American >faces. These are the only 'people' who count now, and - to be quite honest >- the rest of the world might has well go around with bags over their >heads. Which is great news for all of us here at HSPBOSH. > _________________________________________________________________ MSN Photos is the easiest way to share and print your photos: http://photos.msn.com/support/worldwide.aspx ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84x2u.a9WB2D Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================
