Remora

Carol Morehead at Index has a must read or not read or don't know if one should read article on the Taliban propensity to torture (limited inc has a definite limit, not inc., on how much torture in a text we can stomach). We were feeling a little guilty about celebrating the victory of the Northern Alliance. James Ridgeway, who we certainly respect, at the Village Voice had some scoriating things to say about the thuggishness of said Good Witch of the North Alliance, and the American responsibility vis a vis Afghanistan:

"Shielding the refugees from the marauding Taliban and tribal fighting led by the U.S.-backed thugs of the Northern Alliance will almost surely necessitate a long-term commitment of American ground forces in Central Asia."


But as one reads through Ridgeway's article, one gets an uncomfortable sense that Ridgeway considers everything that happens in Afghanistan somehow the fault of the USA. In actuality, the threat of mass starvation in Afghanistan preceded the War. In fact, it is one of the great crimes of the Taliban regime. Although they were undoubtedly on the spot when it came to such central public policy issues as destroying pagan images, ie art, the systematic persecution of women in Afghanistan, the Taliban's one great contribution to political discourse, wasn't just a human rights disaster, it also targeted the most educated part of the population. Now, my readers can surely connect the dots: the blame, if we are looking for blame, for the starvation that is even now sending out its tentacles in camps of Afghan refugees, can't be fixed to the US. Blame, hmm. Of course, in one overriding sense it can be, but that sense has less to do with our cruel bombing campaign then our previous interventions and our macro-managing of the world economy, etc. etc. The ironically positive side of this war is that the US will be more inclined, now, to feed the hungry. Four months ago, I don't think that was the case.

Well, here's an excerpt from one of Morehead's interviews. It is with a man who the Taleban (as Morehead spells it) suspected of some kind of subversive activity:

"I was constantly questioned. Sometimes I would be hit with chains or a cable. Most of the time it was with a chain on my stomach. I was given very little food, perhaps half a piece of bread twice a day. I was moved to another prison, where they left me in a hole full of rubbish and stagnant water. Sometimes they poured boiling water down my back.

"They put me into a cage with dogs. I was moved again, to the Department of Intelligence. Here they put pieces of wood between my fingers, and then squeezed my hands. Then they put heavy stones on my eyes and tied a cloth around my head very tightly. I screamed all the time. They also hung weights from my testicles."

A.H. was certain that he would be executed. He managed to escape down the open toilet and through the sewer. Many of the injuries suffered during torture at the hands of the Taleban have been aggravated by wounds received during fighting and attacks by opposition forces.