Little Coffins

Stunningly, we really have behaved like the Nazis.

From Sullivan today:

The latest from Gitmo: a display of the upright coffins that violent prisoners are now being kept in. The use of extremely restrictive boxes to torture prisoners is, of course, well documented. Abu Zubayda was put in a "tiny coffin".

From The Dark Side
Zubayda's "hard time" began when he was locked into the "tiny coffin" for hours on end, which he described as excruciatingly painful. It was too small for him to stand or stretch out, so small he said he had to double up his limbs in a fetal position. Because of his recently healed injuries, he described this position as particularly agonizing, since it caused his wounds to repoen ... A source familiar with Zubayda's account described the tiny coffin box as "unbearable, most terrible." Article 21 of the Third Geneva Convention - which applies to all prisoners of war - specifically prohibits such forms of cruelty, which are classified as "close confinement."

"Not so long ago, the Bush-Cheney thugs denied they were violating the Geneva Conventions. Now they're bragging about it. It is important to note that there have been no reliable procedures to determine the guilt or innocence of many sequestered at Guantanamo Bay and the Bush administration has conceded that many were innocent of anything. Remind me: if a cab driver can be convicted of war crimes, why can't the president who authorized torture? Meanwhile, Bush is in China referring to human rights abuses. The rest of the world laughs at him. They know what America now stands for."

His Readers respond:

I remember some time in the 1960's Life magazine published a series about Auschwitz. It was a pull out section, I seem to remember it being printed on manila paper. I cried when I read about standup coffins in the camp.

I have tears, again.

And

Just when I think I can't get any more upset, something new comes along. I am truly ashamed of my country. When I toured Auschwitz a few years ago, my guide, whose uncles had died there, showed us similar cells that the Nazis used to torture inmates. I never thought the United States would lower itself to Nazi methods. If the curtrent administration is not tried for war crimes, no one should be.