| A Question of Torture: CIA Interrogation, from the Cold War to the War on Terror Contributor(s): McCoy, Alfred W. (Author) |
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ISBN: 0805082484 ISBN-13: 9780805082487 Publisher: St. Martins Press-3PL OUR PRICE: $18.00 Product Type: Paperback Published: September 2000 Annotation: "An indispensable and riveting account" of the CIA's development and use of torture, from the cold war to Abu Ghraib and beyond (Naomi Klein, "The Nation") In this revelatory account of the CIA's fifty-year effort to develop new forms of torture, historian Alfred W. McCoy locates the deep roots of recent scandals at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo in a long-standing, covert program of interrogation. "A Question of Torture" investigates the CIA's practice of "sensory deprivation" and "self-inflicted pain, " in which techniques including isolation, hooding, hours of standing, and manipulation of time assault the victim's senses and destroy the basis of personal identity. McCoy traces the spread of these practices across the globe, from Vietnam to Iran to Central America, and argues that after 9/11, psychological torture became the weapon of choice in the CIA's global prisons, reinforced by "rendition" of detainees to "torture-friendly" countries. Finally, McCoy shows that information extracted by coercion is worthless, making a strong case for the FBI's legal methods of interrogation. Scrupulously documented and grippingly told, "A Question of Torture" is a devastating indictment of inhumane practices that have damaged America's laws, military, and international standing. |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Intelligence & Espionage - History | Military - General - Political Science | American Government - General |
| Dewey: 323.49 |
| Series: American Empire Project |
| Physical Information: 0.8" H x 5.5" W x 8.4" (0.90 lbs) 320 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: An indispensable and riveting account of the CIA's development and use of torture, from the cold war to Abu Ghraib and beyond (Naomi Klein, The Nation) In this revelatory account of the CIA's fifty-year effort to develop new forms of torture, historian Alfred W. McCoy locates the deep roots of recent scandals at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo in a long-standing, covert program of interrogation. A Question of Torture investigates the CIA's practice of sensory deprivation and self-inflicted pain, in which techniques including isolation, hooding, hours of standing, and manipulation of time assault the victim's senses and destroy the basis of personal identity. McCoy traces the spread of these practices across the globe, from Vietnam to Iran to Central America, and argues that after 9/11, psychological torture became the weapon of choice in the CIA's global prisons, reinforced by rendition of detainees to torture-friendly countries. Finally, McCoy shows that information extracted by coercion is worthless, making a strong case for the FBI's legal methods of interrogation. Scrupulously documented and grippingly told, A Question of Torture is a devastating indictment of inhumane practices that have damaged America's laws, military, and international standing. |