Americans Used To Do Awful Things, But They Know How To Account for Them. What about Us?
Published in Gazeta Wyborcza
(Poland) on 10 December 2014
by Mariusz Zawadzki (link to original)
(Poland) on 10 December 2014
by Mariusz Zawadzki (link to original)
Translated from
by Natalia Suta.
Edited by Kyrstie Lane.
In this discreditable situation, the U.S. report on CIA torture discredits the Polish government even more. We read in the report that Polish leaders opened up to CIA requests concerning the Stare Kiejkuty case only when they received money. Then, a few years later, they were outraged with Americans who had not been able to keep secret the matter of CIA torture prisons.
The U.S. Senate report on the methods used by the CIA in the war against terrorism is not only terrifying, but also amazing. Isn't it strange that investigating officers were able to calculate with great precision that one detainee was waterboarded 183 times, and the full lunch tray for another detainee, which contained hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins, was rectally infused?
Before we routinely condemn Americans, before we shout: "Look who those alleged defenders of freedom really are!" it is worth holding back for a second and thinking it over.
Yes, Americans used to do awful things, and the state of hysteria following the Sept. 11 attacks is not sufficient justification. Yet we have to admit that — as no other country does — they know how to account for their acts. They know how to do self-purification, even if it is painful and risky. It's true that they will not bring Bush or Cheney to trial — it would be too beautiful — but at least they speak the truth, revealing all the uncomfortable details.
We, however, have been unable for years to account for our role in the whole case, the secret CIA prison in the town of Stare Kiejkuty. Our government hasn't admitted officially that we made the secret location available to Americans and we are still not sure how much our leaders of that time knew, and to what extent the CIA used their naivety or their willingness to help an ally in need.
In this discreditable situation, the U.S. report on CIA torture discredits the Polish government even more. We read in the report that Polish leaders opened up to CIA requests concerning the Stare Kiejkuty case only when they received money. Then, a few years afterward, they were outraged with Americans who had not been able to keep secret the matter of CIA torture prisons.
It cannot get any worse. This is why, instead of complaining about horrid Americans, it is better to take a leaf out of their book. To tell the whole truth, close the case once and for all, and draw conclusions for the future.
The U.S. Senate report on the methods used by the CIA in the war against terrorism is not only terrifying, but also amazing. Isn't it strange that investigating officers were able to calculate with great precision that one detainee was waterboarded 183 times, and the full lunch tray for another detainee, which contained hummus, pasta with sauce, nuts and raisins, was rectally infused?
Before we routinely condemn Americans, before we shout: "Look who those alleged defenders of freedom really are!" it is worth holding back for a second and thinking it over.
Yes, Americans used to do awful things, and the state of hysteria following the Sept. 11 attacks is not sufficient justification. Yet we have to admit that — as no other country does — they know how to account for their acts. They know how to do self-purification, even if it is painful and risky. It's true that they will not bring Bush or Cheney to trial — it would be too beautiful — but at least they speak the truth, revealing all the uncomfortable details.
We, however, have been unable for years to account for our role in the whole case, the secret CIA prison in the town of Stare Kiejkuty. Our government hasn't admitted officially that we made the secret location available to Americans and we are still not sure how much our leaders of that time knew, and to what extent the CIA used their naivety or their willingness to help an ally in need.
In this discreditable situation, the U.S. report on CIA torture discredits the Polish government even more. We read in the report that Polish leaders opened up to CIA requests concerning the Stare Kiejkuty case only when they received money. Then, a few years afterward, they were outraged with Americans who had not been able to keep secret the matter of CIA torture prisons.
It cannot get any worse. This is why, instead of complaining about horrid Americans, it is better to take a leaf out of their book. To tell the whole truth, close the case once and for all, and draw conclusions for the future.