The annihilation of memory and silent suffering: inhibiting outrage at the injustice of torture in the

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Aloysia Brooks
University of Wollongong, [email protected]
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Brooks, Aloysia, The annihilation of memory and silent suffering: inhibiting outrage at the injustice of
torture in the War on Terror in Australia, Doctor of Philosophy thesis, School of Humanities and Social
Enquiry, University of Wollongong, 2016. https://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/4865
Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information
contact the UOW Library: [email protected]
The Annihilation of Memory and Silent
Suffering: Inhibiting Outrage at the Injustice of
Torture in the War on Terror in Australia

© Jeremy Saunders, 2014.

Dr. Aloysia Brooks, D.S.W., M.H.R., B.S.W.

This thesis is presented as required for the conferral of the degree:
Doctor of Philosophy

The University of Wollongong
School of Humanities and Social Enquiry
September 2016
2

Thesis Certification

I, Aloysia Brooks, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements
for the conferral of the degree Doctor of Philosophy, from the University of
Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged.
This document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic
institution.

Aloysia Brooks
3

Abstract
The War on Terror, initiated by the US Government under George W. Bush,
reintroduced torture as an overt tool of the state. The Australian Government was
heavily implicated in colluding and covering up the US torture program. Drawing on
a model of outrage management, newspaper articles from 2002-2012 reveal
extensive evidence that government officials, their agents, and the media, utilised
methods that served to reduce outrage over the use of torture in the War on Terror.
These tactics not only inhibited outrage, but promoted acceptance of torture as a
legitimate security tool in the post 9/11 era.
There is significant evidence that government officials, and a mostly compliant
media, engaged in cover-up, either by omitting information, destroying evidence of
torture, or failing to call into question statements made by US or Australian officials.
There is extensive evidence of dehumanising or devaluing the survivors/victims and
their experience including denigrating them as liars, casting them as unreliable
sources, or, alternatively, attacking their personal character. Evidence extends to the
reinterpretation of events and the way in which language was used to shift focus off
torture to concerns about innocence or guilt. Rather than naming torture for what it
is, terminology such as ‘abuse’ or ‘mistreatment’ was commonly used throughout
the decade of analysis.
The use of official channels to minimise outrage was apparent through the use of
official spokespeople, or investigations that only gave the appearance of justice.
There was also extensive evidence of the use of intimidation towards whistleblowers
and torture survivors in order to prevent them from telling their stories. Those
involved in torture were rewarded, commonly through promotion.
These tactics were enabled by networks of individuals, organisations and institutions
that carry out ideological, economic, practical or political functions to support the
facilitation and cover-up of state-inflicted torture. These networks include shallow
governments that deploy misleading political rhetoric related to torture and
terrorism, the increased role of militarism and covert operations, and the expansion
of the surveillance state. Therefore, challenging torture in the War on Terror requires
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broader structural and societal change to eliminate the pillars of support for torture.
Removing the structural support for torture may require the dismantling of the entire
network through a process of nonviolent resistance.
5

Table of Contents

List of Figures ........................................................................................................................................ 8
Acknowledgements .............................................................................................................................. 11
Foreword .............................................................................................................................................. 14
List of Acronyms.................................................................................................................................. 18
List of Australian and US Administrations .......................................................................................... 20
Chapter 1: Theoretical Framework & Definitions ................................................................................ 21
Research Question ................................................................................................................................ 26
Key Definitions & Terminology .......................................................................................................... 27
Victims and Survivors ................................................................................................................. 27
War on Terror .............................................................................................................................. 27
Defining Torture .......................................................................................................................... 28
Defining Terrorism ...................................................................................................................... 42
Theoretical Frameworks ....................................................................................................................... 45
Human Rights .............................................................................................................................. 45
Othering ....................................................................................................................................... 49
The Backfire Model ..................................................................................................................... 51
Social Constructions and the Media ............................................................................................ 56
The Propaganda Model ................................................................................................................ 59
Thesis Structure .................................................................................................................................... 60
Chapter 2: Background to the War on Terror ....................................................................................... 64
The Birth of the ‘War on Terror’.......................................................................................................... 64
The Military Response ................................................................................................................ 67
The Torture Memos and Treatment of ‘Detainees’ ..................................................................... 70
Guantanamo Bay .................................................................................................................................. 77
Interrogation ................................................................................................................................ 79
Torture Techniques ...................................................................................................................... 87
Military Commissions ................................................................................................................. 91
Private Military and Security Companies: Immunity and Contracted Torture ................................... 102
Joint Special Operations Command .......................................................................................... 109
The President’s Drone and Assassination Program ............................................................................ 113
Chapter 3: Australia’s role in the War on Terror ............................................................................... 117
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Australia’s Military Involvement ....................................................................................................... 117
Detention and Treatment of ‘Detainees’ .................................................................................... 119
Torture and Black Sites ...................................................................................................................... 121
Abu Ghraib ................................................................................................................................ 124
Interrogation .............................................................................................................................. 125
The Dark Matter: SAS, 4 Squadron, JSOC and the New Shadow War ............................................. 132
Australia’s Special Air Service .................................................................................................. 134
4 Squadron ................................................................................................................................. 137
Australia’s role in the cover up of US torture, CIA Extraordinary Rendition and unlawful detention of
Australian Citizens .................................................................................................................. 141
Mamdouh Habib ........................................................................................................................ 141
David Hicks ............................................................................................................................... 142
Joseph Thomas .......................................................................................................................... 144
Australia’s Counter-Terrorism Legislation ........................................................................................ 146
Dr. Mohammed Haneef ............................................................................................................. 155
Chapter 4: Methodology & Article Selection ..................................................................................... 158
Methodology ...................................................................................................................................... 158
Process ....................................................................................................................................... 159
Article Selection ................................................................................................................................. 163
Chapter 5: Evidence of Inhibiting Outrage at the Injustice of Torture ............................................... 167
The Cover-up of Torture .................................................................................................................... 168
US Government Cover-up ......................................................................................................... 172
Australian Government Reinterpretation that Contributed to Mainstream Cover-up ................ 181
Devaluing the person/s who are tortured ............................................................................................ 185
Examples reported in Australian papers .................................................................................... 188
Devaluation of Torture Claims .................................................................................................. 191
Devaluing torture by promoting certain narratives .................................................................... 204
Reinterpretation of Events .................................................................................................................. 206
Reinterpretation of Torture ........................................................................................................ 211
Omissions from Guantanamo reports – Confessions under torture and the reinterpretation of
events ......................................................................................................................................... 217
Use of Official Channels to Give the Appearance of Justice ............................................................. 221
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Intimidating or Rewarding People Involved ...................................................................................... 237
Rewarding People Involved....................................................................................................... 243
Chapter 6: Underlying & Structural Support for State Torture .......................................................... 257
The Politics of Torture ....................................................................................................................... 261
The Politics of Terrorism ................................................................................................................... 265
State Torture as a form of Terrorism .................................................................................................. 270
‘Recreational’ Torture and the Normalisation of Violence ................................................................ 277
Taking the Politics out of Torture ...................................................................................................... 280
Torture as an Instrument of the Deep State: “Imperium in imperium” the State within a State ......... 283
Militarism ........................................................................................................................................... 293
Australia and the Expansion of Militarism ................................................................................ 301
Surveillance State ............................................................................................................................... 307
PSYOPS – The New Frontline .................................................................................................. 315
Chapter 7: Eradicating State Torture? ................................................................................................ 321
‘Countermethods’– Promoting Outrage ............................................................................................. 321
Exposing Cover-up .................................................................................................................... 322
Validate Torture Survivors ........................................................................................................ 325
Emphasise the Injustice ............................................................................................................. 326
Discredit Official Channels & Mobilise Support ...................................................................... 327
Resisting Intimidation ............................................................................................................... 329
Empathy ............................................................................................................................................. 331
Structural Barriers .............................................................................................................................. 333
Nonviolent Resistance ........................................................................................................................ 337
The Global Justice Movement ............................................................................................................ 341
Challenges .......................................................................................................................................... 343
Chapter 8: Conclusion ........................................................................................................................ 348
Postscript ............................................................................................................................................ 355
References .......................................................................................................................................... 363
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List of Figures
Figure 1 – McCoy, Shane. (2002a). The first Camp X-Ray Prisoners, 11 January 2002 [Photograph].
US Department of Defense. Retrieved from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Camp_x-ray_detainees.jpg Page 77
Figure 2 – US Department of Defense. (2003a). Abu Ghraib prisoner forced into a stress position,
October 17, 2003 [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abu_Ghraib_50.jpg Page 80
Figure 3 – US Armed Forces. (2003). Satar Jabar connected to mock electrical shock devices under
threat that stepping down from the box would cause his electrocution at Abu Ghraib
[Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4b/AbuGhraibAbuse-standing-
on-box.jpg Page 87
Figure 4 – US Military. (2004). Prisoner being terrorised by a military dog at Abu Ghraib in Iraq
[Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abu_Ghraib_56.jpg Page 96
Figure 5 – US Department of Defense. (2003b). US Army SSG Ivan Frederick sitting on an Iraqi
prisoner [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abu_Ghraib_prison_abuse.jpg Page 101
Figure 6 – Watson Institute for International Studies. (2014). US troop, Coalition and Contractor
levels in Afghanistan and Iraq [Infographic]. Retrieved 2 September, 2014, from
http://costsofwar.org Page 102
Figure 7 – US Military. (2003). Sexual humiliation, Abu Ghraib [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abu_Ghraib_53.jpg Page 124
Figure 8 – Number of articles with the words ‘torture’ and ‘terror*’ or the phrase ‘War on Terror’
[Graph] Page 163
Figure 9 – Number of articles containing the words ‘torture’ or ‘mistreatment’ or ‘abuse’ or ‘ill-
treatment’ and ‘terror’ or ‘War on Terror’ in the title [Graph] Page 164
Figure 10 – Number of articles containing the words ‘torture’ or ‘mistreatment’ or ‘abuse’ or ‘ill-
treatment’ and ‘terror’ or ‘War on Terror’ [Graph] Page 164
Figure 11 – Number of articles containing the words ‘torture’, ‘abuse’, ‘mistreatment’ or ‘ill-
treatment’ [Graph] Page 165
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Figure 12 – Billings, Michael. (2007). One of the cells set up with ‘comfort items’ for reporters in
Guantanamo, October 26, 2007 [Photograph]. JTF Guantanamo. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Camp_5_cell,_and_a_captive%27s_issued_
items.JPG Page 170
Figure 13 – A sketch by Thomas V. Curtis, a former Reserve M.P. sergeant, showing how Dilawar
was allegedly chained to the ceiling of his cell. In, Golden, Tim. (2005, 20 May). In
US Report, Brutal Details of 2 Afghan Inmates' Deaths [Image]. The New York Times.
Retrieved 6 March 2015 from http://nytimes.com/2005/05/20/world/asia/in-us-report-
brutal-details-of-2-afghan-inmates-deaths.html Page 175
Figure 14 – US Army. (2003). United States Army photo from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq showing
Pvt. Lynndie England holding a leash attached to a prisoner collapsed on the floor,
known to the guards as "Gus" [Photograph]. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Abu-ghraib-leash.jpg Page 188
Figure 15 – JTF GITMO. (2003). Omar Khadr pulling his hair in frustration during an interrogation
by Canadian officials [Photograph]. 1 February, 2003. Guantanamo Bay. Retrieved
from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Guantanamo_Bay_detainment_camp_i
ntelligence#/media/File:Omar_Khadr_pulling_his_hair_in_frustration_during_an_inte
rrogation_by_Canadian_officials.jpg Page 203
Figure 16 – Ward, R. D. (2004). “Lt. Gen. Anthony Jones gives his insights to reporters during a
press conference in the Pentagon on Aug. 25, 2004. Jones was the lead investigator in
the Army's probe into abuse of prisoners at the Abu Ghraib prison” [Photograph]. US
Department of Defense. Retrieved from
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Defense.gov_News_Photo_040825-D-
9880W-073.jpg Page 223
Figure 17 – Underlying Systems and Supports for State Inflicted Torture [Table] Page 259-
260
Figure 18 – The Elements and Functions of the Deep and Shallow State [Infographic] Page 284
Figure 19 – International Institute for Strategic Studies. (2016). Top 15 Defence Budgets 2015-2016
[Infographic]. Retrieved from http://iiss.org/-
/media/images/publications/the_military_balance/milbal2016/mb_2016_top_15_defen
ce_budgets_2015.jpg?la=en Page 299
Figure 20 – Table Demonstrating the Global Reach of Weapons and Military Technology Suppliers,
Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Raytheon [Table] Page 305