Report Shows Torture Is Widespread in Iraq
Wow. We liberate them and spend blood and treasure, and there is widespread torture going on by the Iraqi government, it seems.
Except that is not what the story is about:
Published this week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the report examined the causes of death for 60,481 Iraqi civilians killed violently during the first five years of the war, using statistics compiled by Iraq Body Count. The findings are surprising to anyone familiar with the regular headlines from Iraq blaring explosions around the country. Executions with firearms, not bomb blasts, have killed most civilians in Iraq. Researchers say 33% of the victims examined in the study died by execution after abduction or capture. And 29% of those victims had signs of torture on their bodies such as bruises, drill holes or burns. Suicide bombers in cars or on foot were responsible for 14% of the victims in the study, while U.S. airstrikes killed 4%.
The paragraph identifies the problem right there, "anyone familiar with the regular headlines from Iraq" might actually be surprised. For those who paid attention to the war, though we are not "reporters" or "editors," this statistic is no surprise. American airstrikes killed few and death squads supported by Iran and the Sunni Arabs were very busy.
But surely, with a headline like this article has, the Iraqi government must be awful. Well, they do try:
The Iraqi government has consistently faced accusations of torture and maltreatment of prisoners through the years - and still does. The most recent human rights report from the U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq cites "continuing reports of the widespread and routine torture or ill-treatment of detainees, particularly those being held in pre-trial detention facilities, including police stations."
Note the "consistent" "accusations" sentence with nothing backing it up. Note, too, the lumping in of "torture" with "ill-treatment." That is a standard tactic with reporters with an angle to pursue. If you have 1,000 prisoners with 1 instance of torture and 249 instances of ill-treatment, and you want to undermine the authorities, would you choose to write about A) 1/10 of 1% of prisoners tortured, or B) 25% of prisoners tortured or ill-treated.
Congratulations! You can be a Time magazine editor!
But what about those accusations?
How widespread torture remains in Iraqi jails at present is not publicly known. So far, neither the U.N. nor the Iraqi government has made any verifiable statistics available. But few doubt the practice continues today among Iraqi authorities and criminal elements.
They don't know. And again, note the combination tactic, lumping in the government and criminal elements. Would anybody compile murder statistics in the United States by combining police killings of suspected criminals or criminals and plain murders, and then write about police and criminal killings continue to increase, with X taking place in 2008? There is undoubtedly some level of problem in Iraq today, as it fights terrorists. It is also undoubtedly far less than under Saddam. And we are undoubtedly trying to erase lingering habits.
I think most reporters honestly try to do a good job. And as a blogger, I implicitly rely on their accuracy (or at least being accurate enough for my knowledge of history and the world to fill in gaps or correct innocent errors).
But as the traditional media dies off, consider why more people are losing trust in them. This article could be an exhibit. Remember, 95% of reporters are idiots or just doing their jobs.
