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><center> I think I told you this one time before ></center> > ><center> Padilla--Padilla--Padilla--That's All Folks ></center> ><center> <img >src="http://www.wiseacre-gardens.com/buttons/pics/porky >.gif"> </center> > > > > > >>The Bush administration's May, 2002 lawless detention >>of U.S. citizen Jose Padilla – on U.S. soil – was, as >>I recounted in my book, the first incident which >>really prompted me to begin concluding that things >>were going terribly awry in our country. The >>administration declared Padilla an "enemy combatant," >>put him in a military prison, and refused to charge >>him with any crime or even allow him access to a >>lawyer or anyone else. He stayed in a black hole, kept >>by his own government, for the next three-a-half-years >>with no charges of any kind ever asserted against him >>and with the administration insisting on the right to >>detain him (and any other American citizen) >>indefinitely – all based solely on the secret, >>unchallengeable say-so of the President that he was an >>"enemy combatant." >> >>To this day, I have trouble believing that we have a >>Government that claims this power against American >>citizens and has exercised that power and aggressively >>defended it – and even more trouble believing that >>there are so many blindly loyal followers (Heretic) of >>that government who defend that conduct. The outrage >>that it provokes when thinking about it has not >>diminished even a small amount and does not diminish >>no matter how many times one reads, writes or speaks >>about it. It is as profound a betrayal of the most >>core American political principles as one can fathom. >> >>The Bush administration finally charged Padilla with a >>crime (after 3 1/2 years of detention) only because >>the U.S. Supreme Court was set to rule on the legality >>of their treatment of Padilla, and indicting Padilla >>enabled the administration to argue that his case was >>now "moot." The Government's indictment made no >>mention of the flamboyant allegation they originally >>trumpeted to justify his lawless incarceration – that >>he was a "Dirty Bomber" attempting to detonate a >>radiological bomb in an American city (because the >>"evidence" for that accusation was itself procured by >>torture and was therefore unreliable and unusable). >>Instead, the indictment contained only the vaguest and >>most generic terrorism allegations. Since then, the >>federal judge presiding over Padilla's case (in the >>Southern District of Florida) has repeatedly expressed >>skepticism over the Government's case against him and >>has, on several occasions, admonished them to provide >>more specific information setting forth exactly what >>Padilla is alleged to have done. >> >>Last week, Padilla's lawyers filed a Motion to Dismiss >>the Indictment against him on the grounds that the >>Government has engaged in outrageous conduct – >>specifically, that they tortured him for the 3 1/2 >>years he remained in captivity, particularly for the >>almost 2 full years that they denied him access even >>to a lawyer. Via David Markus, a South Florida >>attorney who has been reporting on the Padilla >>proceedings on his local blog, Padilla's Motion to >>Dismiss is here (.pdf). Markus excerpts a substantial >>part of the description of Padilla's captivity, which >>is the first detailed account I have read of the >>treatment to which Padilla was subjected while in >>detention. >> >>I'm excerpting parts of it below (read the full >>excerpt at Markus' blog or in Padilla's brief). It is >>worthwhile to note that all of the treatment described >>by Padilla has been described by numerous other >>detainees, and from what I can tell, all of the >>treatment he describes are part of the "interrogation >>and detention techniques" which the President now has >>the legal authority to invoke pursuant to the >>so-called Military Commissions Act of 2006 – enacted >>by our Congress just ten days ago. Thus, everything >>Padilla describes is now perfectly legal in the United >>States – even when applied against individuals charged >>with no crimes of any kind. >> >>As Markus notes, this is how the Argument section of >>Padilla's brief begins: >> >> >> >>"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the >>process he does not become a monster. And when you >>look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into >>you."Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil 89 >>(Walter Kaufmann trans., Vintage Books 1966) (1886). >>Padilla's Brief details the treatment to which he was >>subjected: >> >>In an effort to gain Mr. Padilla’s "dependency and >>trust," he was tortured for nearly the entire three >>years and eight months of his unlawful detention. The >>torture took myriad forms, each designed to cause >>pain, anguish, depression and, ultimately, the loss of >>will to live. The base ingredient in Mr. Padilla’s >>torture was stark isolation for a substantial portion >>of his captivity. >>For nearly two years – from June 9, 2002 until March >>2, 2004, when the Department of Defense permitted Mr. >>Padilla to have contact with his lawyers – Mr. Padilla >>was in complete isolation. Even after he was permitted >>contact with counsel, his conditions of confinement >>remained essentially the same. >> >>He was kept in a unit comprising sixteen individual >>cells, eight on the upper level and eight on the lower >>level, where Mr. Padilla’s cell was located. No other >>cells in the unit were occupied. His cell was >>electronically monitored twenty-four hours a day, >>eliminating the need for a guard to patrol his unit. >>His only contact with another person was when a guard >>would deliver and retrieve trays of food and when the >>government desired to interrogate him. >> >>His isolation, furthermore, was aggravated by the >>efforts of his captors to maintain complete sensory >>deprivation. His tiny cell – nine feet by seven feet – >>had no view to the outside world. The door to his cell >>had a window, however, it was covered by a magnetic >>sticker, depriving Mr. Padilla of even a view into the >>hallway and adjacent common areas of his unit. He was >>not given a clock or a watch and for most of the time >>of his captivity, he was unaware whether it was day or >>night, or what time of year or day it was. >> >>In addition to his extreme isolation, Mr. Padilla was >>also viciously deprived of sleep. This sleep >>deprivation was achieved in a variety of ways. For a >>substantial period of his captivity, Mr. Padilla’s >>cell contained only a steel bunk with no mattress. The >>pain and discomfort of sleeping on a cold, steel bunk >>made it impossible for him to sleep. Mr. Padilla was >>not given a mattress until the tail end of his >>captivity. . . . >> >>Other times, his captors would bang the walls and cell >>bars creating loud startling noises. These disruptions >>would occur throughout the night and cease only in the >>morning, when Mr. Padilla’s interrogations would >>begin. Efforts to manipulate Mr. Padilla and break his >>will also took the form of the denial of the few >>benefits he possessed in his cell. . . . >> >>Mr. Padilla’s dehumanization at the hands of his >>captors also took more sinister forms. Mr. Padilla was >>often put in stress positions for hours at a time. He >>would be shackled and manacled, with a belly chain, >>for hours in his cell. Noxious fumes would be >>introduced to his room causing his eyes and nose to >>run. The temperature of his cell would be manipulated, >>making his cell extremely cold for long stretches of >>time. Mr. Padilla was denied even the smallest, and >>most personal shreds of human dignity by being >>deprived of showering for weeks at a time, yet having >>to endure forced grooming at the whim of his captors. >> >>A substantial quantum of torture endured by Mr. >>Padilla came at the hands of his interrogators. In an >>effort to disorient Mr. Padilla, his captors would >>deceive him about his location and who his >>interrogators actually were. Mr. Padilla was >>threatened with being forcibly removed from the United >>States to another country, including U.S. Naval Base >>at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where he was threatened his >>fate would be even worse than in the Naval Brig. >> >>He was threatened with being cut with a knife and >>having alcohol poured on the wounds. He was also >>threatened with imminent execution. He was hooded and >>forced to stand in stress positions for long durations >>of time. He was forced to endure exceedingly long >>interrogation sessions, without adequate sleep, >>wherein he would be confronted with false information, >>scenarios, and documents to further disorient him. >>Often he had to endure multiple interrogators who >>would scream, shake, and otherwise assault Mr. >>Padilla. >> >>Additionally, Mr. Padilla was given drugs against his >>will, believed to be some form of lysergic acid >>diethylamide (LSD) or phencyclidine (PCP), to act as a >>sort of truth serum during his interrogations. >> >>Throughout most of the time Mr. Padilla was held >>captive in the Naval Brig he had no contact with the >>outside world. In March 2004, one year and eight >>months after arriving in the Naval Brig, Mr. Padilla >>was permitted his first contact with his attorneys. >>Even thereafter, although Mr. Padilla had access to >>counsel, and thereby some contact with the outside >>world, those visits were extremely limited and >>restricted. . . . >> >>The deprivations, physical abuse, and other forms of >>inhumane treatment visited upon Mr. Padilla caused >>serious medical problems that were not adequately >>addressed. Apart from the psychological damage done to >>Mr. Padilla, there were numerous health problems >>brought on by the conditions of his captivity. Mr. >>Padilla frequently experienced cardiothoracic >>difficulties while sleeping, or attempting to fall >>asleep, including a heavy pressure on his chest and an >>inability to breath or move his body. >> >>In one incident Mr. Padilla felt a burning sensation >>pulsing through his chest. He requested medical care >>but was given no relief. Toward the end of his >>captivity, Mr. Padilla experienced swelling and >>pressure in his chest and arms. He was administered an >>electrocardiogram, and given medication. . . . . >> >>The cause of some of the medical problems experienced >>by Mr. Padilla is obvious. Being cramped in a tiny >>cell with little or no opportunity for recreation and >>enduring stress positions and shackling for hours >>caused great pain and discomfort. It is unclear, >>though, whether Mr. Padilla’s cardiothoracic problems >>were a symptom of the stress he endured in captivity, >>or a side effect from one of the drugs involuntarily >>induced into Mr. Padilla’s system in the Naval Brig. >>In either event, the strategically applied measures >>suffered by Mr. Padilla at the hands of the government >>caused him both physical and psychological pain and >>agony. >> >>It is worth noting that throughout his captivity, none >>of the restrictive and inhumane conditions visited >>upon Mr. Padilla were brought on by his behavior or by >>any actions on his part. There were no incidents of >>Mr. Padilla violating any regulation of the Naval Brig >>or taking any aggressive action towards any of his >>captors. Mr. Padilla has always been peaceful and >>compliant with his captors. He was, and remains to the >>time of this filing, docile and resigned – a model >>detainee. >> >>Mr. Padilla also wants to make clear that the >>deprivation described above did abate somewhat once >>counsel began negotiating with the officials of the >>Naval Brig for the improvements of his conditions. >>Toward the end of Mr. Padilla’s captivity in the Naval >>Brig he was provided reading materials and some other >>more humane treatment. However, despite some >>improvement in Mr. Padilla’s living conditions, the >>interrogations and torture continued even after the >>visits with counsel commenced. >> >>In sum, many of the conditions Mr. Padilla experienced >>were inhumane and caused him great physical and >>psychological pain and anguish. Other deprivations >>experienced by Mr. Padilla, taken in isolation, are >>merely cruel and some, merely petty. However, it is >>important to recognize that all of the deprivations >>and assaults recounted above were employed in concert >>in a calculated manner to cause him maximum anguish. >> >>It is also extremely important to note that the >>torturous acts visited upon Mr. Padilla were done over >>the course almost the entire three years and seven >>months of his captivity in the Naval Brig. For most of >>one thousand three hundred and seven days, Mr. Padilla >>was tortured by the United States government without >>cause or justification. Mr. Padilla’s treatment at the >>hands of the United States government is shocking to >>even the most hardened conscience, and such outrageous >>conduct on the part of the government divests it of >>jurisdiction, under the Due Process clause of the >>Fifth Amendment, to prosecute Mr. Padilla in the >>instant matter. >> >> >> >>All of that was done by the Bush administration to an >>American citizen detained on U.S. soil – without any >>charges ever being brought against him, let alone >>convicted of any crime. All along, the Bush >>administration insisted it had the right to abduct and >>detain U.S. citizens indefinitely and deny them access >>to any courts or even to any lawyers, to either >>contest the validity of their detention or the >>legality of their treatment. That is still the Bush >>administration's position, and the Congress less than >>two weeks ago purported to give the President the >>legal authority to do virtually all of that. >> >>The case of Jose Padilla is one of the most despicable >>and outright un-American travesties the U.S. >>Government has perpetrated for a long time. It is >>impossible to defend that behavior, let alone engage >>in it, and claim with any legitimacy that one believes >>in the principles that have defined and guided this >>country since its founding. But there has been no >>retreat from this behavior. Quite the contrary. The >>atrocity known as the Military Commissions Act of 2006 >>is a huge leap forward to elevating the Padilla >>treatment from the lawless shadows into full-fledged, >>officially sanctioned and legally authorized policy of >>the U.S. Government. The case of Jose Padilla is no >>longer a sick aberration, but is instead a symbol of >>the kind of Government you (Right-wing Rant & Rave >>posters) have chosen to have.
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