Mohamed Farag Bashmilah alleges that he was kidnapped and imprisoned for 19 months without trial by the CIA and cooperating governments. He was later released without trial or charges, and without any explanation for his abduction by anyone. Bashmilah says his disappearance caused such grief within his family that his wife had to be hospitalized for a time. His father also passed away while he was 'disappeared' and he remains heartbroken that his father died never knowing whether he was still alive.
Mohamed says he was tortured by the Jordanian government and the Yemeni Government, then handed over to a CIA rendition team who flew him to Afghanistan where he endured more humiliation and "torture." Mohamed is calling for a "truth commission" to look into the treatment of military detainees and thinks Americans have a right to know what happened to people like him. He further believes that those who broke American laws in the name of security should be prosecuted and held accountable.
First of all, If his story is true (and I think it probably is) I'm genuinely sorry he went through that. His father's passing while he was detained is truly a tragedy and I cannot begin to imagine how difficult that continues to be for him. Having said that, I believe the rendition/interrogation program under the Bush administration was and remains necessary even if President Obama is foolishly dismantling parts of it. We are at war, and in war there are always mistakes, and Mohamed appears to be one of them — maybe.
I don't know why he was picked up by the CIA, but I'm sure they had a legitimate reason. There's a great deal about Mohamed Farag Bashmilah (like possible aliases) that we don't know and probably will never know which formed the basis of his rendition.
I'm sure the folks at The Huffington Post get all misty eyed thinking about the poor people we rendered to so-called "black sites," but I don't. If the CIA had reason to believe that Mr. Bashmilah had information crucial to keeping America safe then whatever, and I do mean whatever, was done to him was justified.
Article comments
1 - Phillip Winn
I'm amazed at your faith that the CIA couldn't possibly have made a mistake. I imagine you might feel differently if you were picked up and held for 19 months on the basis of faulty intelligence or a grudge by someone in, for example, the Yemeni government.
Word to the wise: never travel outside the U.S.! After all, beyond our borders, I guess you have no rights, right?
2 - Alex
essentially your argument is we should detain people however long we feel like it and let them go when we feel like it and torture them whenever we feel like it because we are the United States.
3 - Chris Jones
Phillip,
The fact that he's a free man today suggests that the CIA did make a mistake. They had reason to believe he knew certain things that it turned out he did not.
My larger point is that because we make a mistake once in a while, doesn't mean we shouldn't keep trying.
Other people who were picked up and dealt with in a similar manner we now know DID have vital information that we were able to use.
And yes, once I leave the United States I don't have the same rights.
Did you know that after 9/11 Britain passed a law allowing them to arrest any person (including British citizens) and hold them for up to 42 days without charges or even explanation?
Where's the outcry about that? It only matters when big, bad, evil America does something, right? The Brits are right to have that law, because they must protect their people just like we must protect ours.
4 - Dr Dreadful
Did you know that after 9/11 Britain passed a law allowing them to arrest any person (including British citizens) and hold them for up to 42 days without charges or even explanation?
No, Chris - the law was never passed. It took seven years after 9/11 for the bill to even be introduced into Parliament, and the government abandoned the 42-day provision after it was voted down by the House of Lords.
And there was plenty of outcry about it, believe you me. Just about everyone who knew shit about the subject thought it was a terrible idea - including a couple of retired spy chiefs, the Director of Public Prosecutions and several former cabinet ministers with a justice portfolio.
5 - Dr Dreadful
And I'd be interested to see a citation for your claim that "the average Yemeni policeman routinely tortures people to death".
I'm not saying that the Yemeni police force should be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize any time soon, but that claim seems rather far-fetched.
6 - Cindy
The author says:
I don't know...but I'm sure
That says all there is to say about his thinking skills and his opinions.
7 - Jordan Richardson
Chris, good to see you back! Can't wait for your next Muslim smear article or your next set of delusions principles set to music.
8 - Roger Nowosielski
Funny, I haven't noticed it. Did you have a productive day?
9 - Cindy
I don't know why he was picked up by the CIA, but I'm sure they had a legitimate reason.
right there.
10 - Roger Nowosielski
Yes, I got it:
"I don't know why he was picked up by the CIA, but I'm sure they had a legitimate reason."
Another point to wonder about: "since it was the CIA, it goes without saying they had a legitimate reason."
11 - Jordan Richardson
the average Yemeni policeman routinely tortures people to death.
The average Yemeni policeman also enjoys disco, hanging out in parks, chewing khat until the juices run, and fishing.
12 - Roger Nowosielski
Are you suggesting, Jordan, that they're not one-dimensional?
13 - Cindy
Whatever the average Yemeni policeman does. There is likely a "Chris" in Yemen writing about how, he doesn't know, but he's sure they have a good reason for doing it.
14 - Roger Nowosielski
People will be people, and some of them are Chrises.
15 - Cindy
The more I try to write my article on this subject, the more I cannot comprehend the attitude of a Chris Jones or the actions of the people who have made these decisions and carried out these crimes against people.
They are no different from medieval minds. They are barbarians. No society can advance with them as members. And there are too many of them.
16 - Dr Dreadful
I always feel I should comment here just to keep a discussion going on some subject other than Barger's latest literary fart-in-an-elevator, but I think pretty much everything's been said here.
But please persevere with your article, Cindy. We could do with some thinking on this subject that explores more than one dimension.
17 - Roger Nowosielski
I'm surprised you had even visited that thread. You'd managed to avoid it for at least three days.