I am cross-posting this diary from DailyKos, unedited. All references to DKos and "Kossacks" also apply to RK and our community." This was not a diary I intended on writing. However, after posting a comment on mcjoan's front page diary Republicans Love Torture there were a few replies suggesting that I write a diary on this subject.
I won't go into detail about what happened other than to say, family members of mine were tortured in Chile in the 1970's at the hands of criminals trained by the CIA. In fact, when Abu Gharib happened, the CIA involvement (or other US Intelligence agencies) was obvious after reading descriptions of what occurred as many of the exact same techniques were used in Chile as in Iraq.
Instead, I will write the story of how one family (my family) reacted to torture by the state. I also want to point out that my family members that were tortured (and eventually released without charge) were detained for the mere fact of being student organizers and elected student leaders (at their respective universities).
For Kossacks not aware of what happened on September 11, 1973 the elected government of President Salvador Allende was overthrown by a military coup. Reason being that Chile in 1970 democratically elected a marxist-socialist (Allende) to be our president. What followed was 17 years of a military dictatorship in which many thousands of Chileans (as well as Americans, Spanish and many other nationalities) were detained-disappeared, tortured and murdered by the State under Augusto Pinochet (with the full backing of Kissinger and Nixon).
The torturers lost. My family in Chile has remained active in politics and to this day are proud members of the left and work in both government and politics. My Aunt helped write the Chilean equivalent of the American's with Disability Act, my Uncle has worked in one capacity or another for the government since democracy was restored in 1990. (Relevant to point out that the center-left coalition has won each presidential election since the restoration).
Not only were we not intimidated into submission, we were inspired to action.
Here in the states we have also become active. My immediate family (nuclear family) escaped "torture" but my mother decided to leave after the military pulled her over while visibly pregnant with my sister (pulled for having an American-made car). While the car was searched, a young soldier literally rested the end of his rifle on my mothers pregnant stomach...that's when she decided to leave Chile. My mother devoted her life to helping others as a health economist fighting the World Bank and IMF at each step making sure that the little resources that were made available were spent on those that needed it most, not wasted or misspent. (coming up through UNICEF and now working at the World Health Organization).
My sister is attending law school (at American Univ. in DC) and hopefully by this time next year will be a JD in Human Rights law.
I have dedicated my life to helping others by becoming a Democratic political consultant and have done 8 campaigns and am currently the Online Outreach Director for Students for Barack Obama.
As I once wrote
Senator Obama much like myself feels it in his core and it's not about power, its about using your god given talents and intelligence and using them in the most effective way possible to assist those that need assistance, inspire the apathetic, feed the hungry and provide medical assistance to the sick. For the Senator that meant running for President and creating a national movement, for me that meant helping him get elected.
As I finish writing this, I want to add that I am not writing this for sympathy or "apologies" (as I'm 99.9% sure that no Kossack has participated in torture, much less the torture of my family). I'm not really sure why I wrote this other than to share my story and perhaps give a personal touch to this debate on torture. What was debated amongst the Republicans in South Carolina, approved by Attorney General Gonzales and practiced in Iraq and Cuba (and many other locations) is not merely an academic or political exercise, it will have a direct impact on the lives and families of scores of individuals, and that we cannot forget.
Nate de la Piedra is the Online Outreach Director for Students for Barack Obama. The ideas expressed herein belong to Nate de la Piedra and do not necessarily represent those of Senator Obama, his advisers, staff, or "The Campaign".
One of the practical objections to torture by those American government employees and contractors who knew it was going on, is that their alternative to torture was working better. Government reports showed that two vists to a detainee from a holy man, an imam, at strategically spaced intervals convinced detainees to confess. At the first visit, the Imam explained why their actions did not meet the requirements for a true Jihad. That would mean eternal damnation. So the detainee is given a day or two to think about that. At the second visit, the Imam offers to hear their conscience. The detainees would confess. Two days. Bingo. Damn, can't find the reference, but that's what sites were doing successfully before thet got "Git-Mo-ized."
My other point that many forget is, torture leaves a terrible mark on the the soldier or public servant who is asked to participate in it. Certainly torture, by it's very terms, is anti-social behavior. Not only do the participants become anti-social, often in a way that is difficult to turn off in other circumstances; many of them become psychotic from the experience.
Imagine you are one of these parents or spouses asked to turn over your beloved family members to the armed forces to serve the country, and they come back psychotic. Not to mention the completely inadequate health care response to their mental health: Walter Reed. How can we ask military families to bear this horrible burden? Unfortunately after 9/11 many people cannot work up sympathy for any foreign brown people who are tortured. Especially to rally their support we need to keep mentioning their are two parties to torture. Support our troops by not expecting them to violate the Geneva Convention, and acknowledge their own humanity as well as the humanity of others.
Chilean "former commandos"Blackwater and other U.S.-based private military contractors do not only recruit Americans; according to Jonathan Franklin, former commandos from Chile are an increasing presence among private military troops in Iraq. Gary Jackson, president of Blackwater, told the British newspaper The Guardian that former Chilean commandos, "many of who had trained under the military government of Augusto Pinochet," will be sent to Iraq for a year and a half, to guard oil wells from saboteurs. "We scour the ends of the earth to find professionals - the Chilean commandos are very, very professional and they fit within the Blackwater system," said Jackson. And the private military melting pot doesn't stop there: "Squads of Bosnians, Filipinos and Americans with special forces experience have been hired for tasks ranging from airport security to protecting Paul Bremer, the head of the Coalition Provisional Authority." [20]
I think everyone knows what they were hired to do, Lagos himself was in exile following the Coup and Bachelet's father was a general killed for supporting the constitution.
And we need real stories like yours to counter balance pop culture and its romance with torture. Many action films and male-oriented stories have the good guys getting information through torture, and torturers are celebrated as the ultimate pragmatist archetypes.