The US Army Criminal Investigation Command is investigating torture of Taliban and other jihadist prisoners in the Army's custody, according to sources in the command.
The inhumane techniques are said to fall under the general category of "PowerPointing." As an example, Taliban prisoners were given a full, American Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings, then were told they couldn't sleep it off until after they had explained this slide to interrogators:
In a report titled “For the Greater Good,” PowerPointing is defined as “forcing a subject to view a series of PowerPoint slideshow presentations to the point of exhaustion, thereby making it possible to gain answers or information from the subject.”This is cruel beyond all humanity. Asked of the report, White House spokesman Sean Spicer reiterated President Trump's endorsement of torture, including waterboarding, as legitimate tools in wartime interrogations.
According to the report, interrogators used the technique to deal with uncooperative or belligerent prisoners.
“PowerPointing is torture, plain and simple,” said lead investigator Hugh Johnson. “Even though we’re dealing with people who are often terrorists plotting against the United States and our allies, we can’t stoop to their level.”
Johnson said Army interrogators collected PowerPoint presentations from their unit’s training officers. Presentation topics included fraternization, sexual harassment, and motorcycle safety.
"But the president told me this morning that PowerPointing can never be justified," Spicer said. "Beating them on the bare soles of their feet with rubber stanchions, that's okay. Auto-battery electric shocks? Fine. But PowerPointing? Sickening, just sickening. Must be stopped."
Defense Secretary James Mattis' office released a statement that he was actively considering taking this step in response to the report.
Posts
