Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dynamics of Torture

Rating:
Summary: Grim, but not fairy tales
Review: In the first pages of his book, ``Unspeakable Acts, Ordinary People: The Dynamics of Torture,'' John Conroy states that he is not giving an balanced overview of torture in the world. Instead of going to the Red Chinese Laogai, or a Ugandan dungeon, he uses examples where we might consider the government forces to be the good guys-- Israel, Britian, and Chicago.

This is both the strength and weakness of his book. It makes the stories more immediate, unpredictable, and chilling. There are no cheap thrills to be had by relishing over the details of the grisly methods of some far off totalitarian or third world savage.

However, this is also the book's weakness. For these acts do come in the name of doing good, stopping terrorism or murder, and despite their admitted excesses, are also different, then, in kind from the other type I mentioned. The Israeli and British (which was more psychological in nature) problems happen in the context of a long and brutal, on again, off again, war marked by periods of sudden violence and terrorism, where soldiers become frustrated, and, because of the democratic nature of their goverments, often are targets in a way that the armies of more brutal governmets are not forced to endure. The Chicago incident happened in the wake of a cold blooded cop killing-- though it was not an isolated case, if testimony is to be believed.

Also different is that in each of these cases, there were those within the ranks who protested the acts, and this was not-- as Conroy points out was the case with the Gestapo, the Imperial Japanese, or the various forms of the KGB-- broadly applied terror tactics against the population as a whole designed to stifle dissent.

Conroy gives a brief history of torture, reminding us that not so long ago it was considered a judicial remedy and a legitimate investigation technique, though I think it is a mistake to equate corporal punishment in a society that could never have afforded a prison system, with the modern concept of torture.

The strength of the book is less in its analysis than in its reporting. Conroy talks directly to those involved in the incidents, and reveals them to be ordinary people. This is disturbing, but not quite as surprising as he expects us to be.

Now, if the chief Gestapo torturer, or the best inflictor of pain in the Lubyanka, sounded like my next door neighbor, THAT would give me pause.

Rating:
Summary: Sickeningly Topical in 2004
Review: This book is a thoughtful investigation of torture in the modern world. Author Conroy approaches the subject journalistically, through a reconstruction of three torture episodes: the torture of IRA suspects by the British Army in 1971; the torture of Palestinians by Israeli troops in 1988; and the torture of a cop-killing suspect by Chicago police in 1982. Along the way, Conroy reflects on the history of torture and its practice in countries like Greece, Rhodesia, and Uruguay; he also explores the implications of scientific studies such as the famous Milgram experiment. The narrative is constructed out of media accounts, official documents, and Conroy's own interviews. The writing is calm and factual, even though the subject is horrifying.

Although this book was published in 2000, it will be a wake up call for anyone naive enough to think that the torture of Iraqi prisoners was the work of a "few bad apples" in the American Army. The "stress and duress" techniques used in Iraq -- sleep deprivation, hooding, sexual humiliation, muscle stress, etc. -- are standard operating procedure for interrogators who want to engage in torture without leaving traces of physical abuse. As Conroy documents, these techniques were used in Northern Ireland and on the West Bank, and were taught to Latin American soldiers in schools run by the U.S. Army and the CIA. The only thing unique about Iraq, alas, is the fact that U.S. soldiers were stupid enough to film their own atrocities.

Rating:
Summary: The Banality of Torture Personalized
Review: This is a book for those who think that the guys in the white hats must be the good guys.

The right to be free from torture is absolute under international law, and there are no exceptions permitted. John Conroy chose to look at torture by governments of three Western democracies - Israel, Great Britain (in Northern Ireland) and The United States (Chicago) and to talk not only to the victims, but where possible, to the torturers. There is no reason to think that most torturers in other, non-democratic, countries are any different from those we meet here. Most regard themselves as doing an unpleasant but necessary job - maintaining the security of the State from the Outsider, be he Irish Catholic, Palestinian or Black. Others are sadistic, and would be sadistic torturers under any regime. While Conroy limits himself to a specific incidence from each country, we know that more than 60 men were tortured in the same Chicago police station where Conroy's events take place, that Great Britain tortured or unjustifiably shot many dozens of IRA suspects, and that Israel routinely tortured hundreds of Palestinians until this year.

We are all aware that torture occurs in Iraq, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, and Sudan. It is less well known that torture is also widespread in the jails of India and Mexico. The understated story that Conroy tells gives powerful evidence of how easy it is to slip into such practices, even in a democracy. Under the right (or wrong) circumstances the torturer could be you or me.