Monday, November 28, 2016

Muckrakers Assignment: Out of The Darkness 
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Bruce Jessen and JAmes Mitchell
Investigation revolved around inhumane torture methods used upon a number of foreign individuals who were thought to be involved in terrorism. The CIA lied to Congress and the White House about their actions and experiments used upon non-consenting individuals. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (SSCI) produced the investigation against the CIA around this scandal.
 This article is discussing how two men, James Mitchell and Bruce, produced methods of torture used in the early 2000s. They were physiologists assigned to create ways of interrogation to obtain information about terrorism. The idea, made by the CIA, was to break the minds of those interrogated. Once the program physiologically destroyed a person through torture, they would be easily manipulated and be compliant to given commands.
These actions were hidden, obviously because they were controversial and not particularly legal. There was a ban on human experimentation after the horrid actions made by Nazis during WWII. Of the many victims, three survivors are now seeking lawsuits against their perpetrators. Throughout this article it talks of victim Suleiman Abdullah, taken from Afghanistan in March, 2003. It also discusses Al Qaida resistors thought to have information on terrorism aimed at America. Being thought to have trained to resist interrogation, these individuals were tortured into induced learned helplessness.
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Survived Captive, Suleiman Abdullah
The cruel acts used upon these people are highly considered torture and violate human dignity and prohibitions made against questionable cruel acts on humans. I find it difficult to understand how these people involved in this hidden torture scandal could even try and justify their actions or not let the other branches of government know of the activities happening within other countries occupied by the CIA. To read the full article, find more facts, or view timelines of events, visit;  https://www.aclu.org/feature/out-darkness
To learn more about the Senate report created around this article, visit:
https://www.aclu.org/cases/senate-torture-report-foia