bring to light the hidden things of darkness


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Apparently, SBS already had some of the torture photos that Obama now says he won’t release. Now, of course, there’s hard evidence that these acts weren’t the result of the few depraved guards who have been punished but rather the implementation of carefully calibrated techniques designed by senior officials who won’t be punished. Looking at the images, you can see how more than a hundred prisoners in Afghanistan and Iraq actually died in the course of interrogations. Which is why, of course, the publication of the photos matters so much. It’s easy to gibly dismiss ‘enhanced interrogations’ in the abstract; much less so when you can see with your own eyes what it means.

Jeff Sparrow

Jeff Sparrow is a Walkley Award-winning writer, broadcaster and former editor of Overland.

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