Torture

One of the fears highlighted by western and American media was the loss of American moral power in the world, and the possibility of the use of this report for propaganda and recruitment purposes by Jihadist groups. As an Arab, I cannot help but think that this fear is vastly exaggerated, for the simple reason that the US - at least in the Arab world - never possessed this moral legitimacy in the first place. In the average Arab mind, there is a connection between the US, Israel, Arab autocrats, foreign domination and war. In other words, the US is not seen as a moral power; it is seen as an imperial power that uses its local cronies - sometimes with direct intervention - to maintain its hegemony over the region and, most importantly, the people of the region. The torture report will not alter this dynamic nor accelerate it. The Jihadists were created by these practices and wider policies that never received any international condemnation. The increase of extremists at an alarming rate is the result of US foreign policy. Those living under the yoke of America’s allies experience real torture and this is not being addressed as a US responsibility. From the Palestinians in the occupied territories and refugee camps, to the Egyptians living under military autocrats, and Iraqis suffering from the violence of sectarianism; they all languish in a slow painful existence, which is not acknowledged as torture. The US is responsible for the daily torture of millions of Arabs, as a matter of systematic policy, for which it is not being held accountable.