Foundation

by Eric Martin

The power of the Executive to cast a man into prison without formulating any charge known to the law, and particularly to deny him the judgement of his peers, is in the highest degree odious and is the foundation of all totalitarian government whether Nazi or Communist.

— Winston Churchill

I believe these are what Condoleezza Rice referred to as the "birth pangs" of democracy":

Hundreds of Sunni men disappeared for months into a secret Baghdad prison under the jurisdiction of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's military office, where many were routinely tortured until the country's Human Rights Ministry gained access to the facility, Iraqi officials say.

The men were detained by the Iraqi army in October in sweeps targeting Sunni groups in Nineveh province, a stronghold of the group Al Qaeda in Iraq and other militants in the north. The provincial governor alleged at the time that ordinary citizens had been detained as well, often without a warrant.

Worried that courts would order the detainees' release, security forces obtained a court order and transferred them to Baghdad, where they were held in isolation. Human rights officials learned of the facility in March from family members searching for missing relatives. [...]

The alleged brutal treatment of prisoners at the facility raised concerns that the country could drift back to its authoritarian past.

Commanders initially resisted efforts to inspect the prison but relented and allowed visits by two teams of inspectors, including Human Rights Minister Wijdan Salim. Inspectors said they found that the 431 prisoners had been subjected to appalling conditions and quoted prisoners as saying that one of them, a former colonel in President Saddam Hussein's army, had died in January as a result of torture. [...]

"The prime minister cannot be responsible for all the behavior of his soldiers and staff," said Salim, praising Maliki's willingness to root out abuses. Salim, a Chaldean Christian, ran for parliament in last month's elections on Maliki's Shiite-dominated list.

Maliki defended his use of special prisons and an elite military force that answers only to him; his supporters say he has had no choice because of Iraq's precarious security situation. Maliki told The Times that he was committed to stamping out torture -- which he blamed on his enemies.

Three thoughts on this, each in their own way disconcerting: First, extrajudicial detention and torture (as well as summary execution and death via torture) by Iraqi government forces is not exactly a "new" phenomenon in the post-Saddam Victorious Era (but one example).  Second, it's not only the Iraqis that have been committing those types of atrocities (Abu Ghraib anyone?).  Third, the U.S. has been mainstreaming and normalizing such practices in more places than just Iraq, with the Obama administration pushing for codification and endorsement under U.S. law (see, also, Bagram, Gitmo and any number of "black sites" in Afghanistan, Europe, Diego Garcia, Southeast Asia, etc.).

In a mortifying sense, we have indeed exported our version of democracy to Iraq. 

(via)

Comments

[Ben Alpers]

Excellent post, Eric.

One of the main concerns raised about the very thin public record of Elana Kagan, who court watchers seem to think is the likely frontrunner to be nominated to replace John Paul Stevens, involves her position on "preventive detention" and other extreme assertions of executive authority of the sort that we came to expect from the last presidential administration....and have come to expect from this one, too.

[CharleyCarp]

Are they holding medics in jail, without charge or trial, despite the explicit ban in the Geneva Conventions, and are their courts upholding the detention, because their legislature has explicitly barred them from considering the Geneva Conventions? If not, then they have a ways to go yet.

[cleek]

when the political costs of breaking the law are lower than the political costs of allowing a terrorist attack which could have been prevented by breaking the law, politicians will break the law.

[Slartibartfast]

I strongly urge a followup post entitled "Foundation and Empire".

[Marty]

"I strongly urge a followup post entitled "Foundation and Empire"."

Followed shortly by Second Foundation and then a trail of posts of diminishing interest to demean the original epic trilogy in the name of making money, oh wait, sorry, that's another blog.

[Jacob Davies]

I was listening to the Fresh Air interview of the NYT's Afghanistan correspondent Dexter Filkins yesterday: http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=13&prgDate=04-20-2010

There are some obvious similarities between the two countries. The dudes we put in power are brutal and corrupt and widely hated, which is not especially surprising; that's a common characteristic of leaders of less-developed countries. The difference is that these guys have the US stamp of approval and billions of dollars in US military hardware & personnel backing them up. Democracy without reconciliation does not make for legitimacy and respect; it just means that the majority gets to be the bully.

[elm]

In a mortifying sense, we have indeed exported our version of democracy to Iraq.

Damnit, you beat me to that snark.

Second attempt: Apparently I missed the emphasis. The purpose of the invasion was to shut down Saddam's secret police and torture chambers.

Third attempt: See, the transfer of authority in Iraq is working as planned. The Iraqis can now take responsibility for their own kidnapping, torture, and murder.

[Bernard Yomtov]

I strongly urge a followup post entitled "Foundation and Empire".

Followed shortly by Second Foundation..

Actually, the whole thing is playing out as:

"Saddam," "Saddam and Empire," (Kuwait war), and "Second Saddam," - whoever ends up as the new strongman.