Truth, Torture, and the American Way The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture

Jennifer Harbury_s investigation into torture began when her husband disappeared in Guatemala in 1992; she told the story of his torture and murder in Searching for Everardo. For over a decade since, Harbury has used her formidable legal, research, and organizing skills to press for the U.S. government_s disclosure of America_s involvement in harrowing abuses in Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. A draft of this book had just been completed when the first photos from Abu Ghraib were published; tragically, many of Harbury_s deepest fears about America_s own abuses were graphically confirmed by those horrific images.This urgently needed book offers both well-documented evidence of the CIA_s continuous involvement in torture tactics since the 1970s and moving personal testimony from many of the victims. Most important, Harbury provides solid, convincing arguments against the use of torture in any circumstances: not only because it is completely inconsistent with all the basic values Americans hold dear, but also because it has repeatedly proved to be ineffective: Again and again, "information" obtained through these gruesome tactics proves unreliable or false. Worse, the use of torture by U.S. client states, allies, and even by our own operatives, endangers our citizens and especially our troops deployed internationally.Harbury, Jennifer is the author of 'Truth, Torture, and the American Way The History and Consequences of U.S. Involvement in Torture', published 2005 under ISBN 9780807003077 and ISBN 0807003077.