TRASHING THE U.S. CONSTITUTION

A U.S. soldier watches over a detainee in a prolonged
stress position at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq


Sleep deprivation. Starvation. Forced nudity. Prolonged stress position. Water dousing. Slamming on a wall. Enhanced interrogation techniques. Secret detention facililties. These may all sound like straight out of a Robert Ludlum spy novel, but no, these are practices that have been adopted by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) after 9/11 in dealing with suspected terrorists.

It is now official: the U.S. government has authorized the use of torture in interrogating terrorist suspects. This was the revelation made with the recent release of Bush administration memos that outlined and sanctioned the various extra-constitutional methods employed in interrogating terrorist suspects - just a few weeks after a confidential Red Cross report found its way to a journalist's hands which enumerated in gory details these interrogation techniques and confirmed the existence of secret detention facilities abroad being maintained by the CIA, known as "black sites," where terrorist suspects are whisked in secret for the purpose of conducting unfettered interrogations in a practice called "extraordinary rendition."

U.S. President Obama has stood firm by his campaign promises and committment to keep America's ideals and security in harmony by adhering to its values of protecting and promoting civil liberties under the constitution. Just a few days into his office, Obama issued an executive order for the closure in a year's time of the notorious Guantanamo Bay detention facilities (Gitmo) in Cuba; he appointed Leon Panetta - a vocal critic against torture - to head the CIA, who himself has recently ordered the closure of all "black sites" and an end to extraordinary rendition. And now, Obama has authorized the release of Bush administration memos on torture, which got national security hawks and right wingers peddling claims about America's safety being endangered by Obama's actions.

This is yet evidence of another instance in America's history where its constitution has been thrown out of the window under the murky justification called national security. Although Bush administration officials and supporters - mostly from the conservative right - maintain that these interrogation techniques are not torture, their very inhumane nature militates against such claim. In water boarding, for example, where a detainee is laid on his back with his feet raised while his head is covered with cloth, water is poured continuously over the covered face which produces the sensation of drowning. Another example of a reprehensible interrogation technique is deprivation of a detainee's basic necessities - which is accomplished by stripping him naked, starving him for days and depriving him of sleep. Now I don't know what's inhuman if this is not.

Fueled by fear and paranoia as a result of the deadliest terrorist attack on its soil, America has stooped down and disregarded its ideals by resorting to methods repugnant to its constitution. What was once the example and leader of democratic ideals by other countries - such as the Philippines - had gone down a path where individual civil liberties became illusory, at least as far as terrorist suspects are concerned. No matter who the victims are, however, this will not detract from the fact that America's hands were mired in the dirt of human rights violations.

It is hoped that President Obama will remain true to his committment to restore America's fallen image. Even as now, however, doubts are already lingering about his resolve when he declared immunity from prosecution of those involved in torture. Human rights groups took no pause in criticizing Obama's refusal to prosecute those who engaged in or authorized the tortures, accusing him of political expediency. But by releasing the torture memos at the risk of criticisms from conservatives and even the alienation of his own intelligence community, Obama clearly has taken a bold step in righting the wrongs of the past and moving in the right direction. The US constitution just got retrieved from a heap of garbage . . . hopefully for good.