Yes, that title is not incorrect..we, the universal we, through the ages, have used and obsessed about Waterboarding my dear reader. Nothing makes that point
clearer than the picture you see below these words you are now reading. That is a picture of American’s waterboarding a Filipino in 1901. We are even doing it in his own country in that graphic.
Isn’t that fucking special?
George W. Bush’s veto of the bill that expressly forbids this type of activity today just reeks of bullshit and bravado. So it is quite apropos that this writeup by Paul Kramer at the NewYorker hit my inbox this morning. The Title: Annals of American History,The Water Cure debating torture and counterinsurgency—a century ago `~ Damn thats a long-assed title isn’t it? Just a taste of his article:
Aguinaldo and some of his advisers, who had been inspired by the United States as a model republic and had greeted its soldiers as liberators, became increasingly suspicious of American motivations. When, after a period of mounting tensions, a U.S. sentry fired on Filipino soldiers outside Manila in February, 1899, the second war erupted, just days before the Senate ratified a treaty with Spain securing American sovereignty over the islands in exchange for twenty million dollars. In the next three years, U.S. troops waged a war to “free” the islands’ population from the regime that Aguinaldo had established. The conflict cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of Filipinos and about four thousand U.S. soldiers.
Ah yes..torture and nation building..in the 1800’s! God, I love our history as aggressors..don’t you? How about the graphic below to get your juices flowing this fine Saturday afternoon. Its during the Vietnam War and the soldiers involved in this activity were summarily court-martialed and drummed out of the military.
Thank you George Bush..thank you for continuing the tradition of allowing our soldiers and minions to torture people of the world. I hope you love your legacy so much you fucking choke on it.
Please take the time to read Mr. Kramer’s piece today..its long but its one helluva history lesson. We are not the first to scream, bitch and gnash our teeth over torturing people. Not by a long-friggin-shot. And something tells me that we sadly won’t be the last…
TOP PHOTOGRAPH of Filipino waterboarding: ATTRIBUTED TO CORPORAL GEORGE J. VENNAGE/OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY RARE BOOKS AND MANUSCRIPTS LIBRARY
