US Soldiers in Iraq mimic torture techniques from '24'. Yes, for real.

Amusingly enough, I'm sharing a post on a topic I just was discussing on the intranet of my 'Human Rights and US Foreign Policy' class.. Who'd have known one of my classes would be interesting enough to be mentioned on my blog :))

"From MSNBC/Newsweek.

"TV's Guide to Torture" - An American soldier describes how he and fellow interrogators in Iraq were influenced by harsh techniques gleaned from hit series like '24.'

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17369550/site/newsweek/

AND from the New Yorker: "Whatever it takes - The Politics of the man behind '24'".

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/070219fa_fact_mayer?page=1 "


The professor -- that would be Samantha Power, winner of the Pullitzer Prize for her book "a Problem from Hell - America and the Age of Genocide" (and my 2006-2007 academic crush) has mentioned in class that in 24, the good guy - Jack Bauer - has actually been using torture against his enemies, breaking with a long televisual tradition where only the bad guys would torture other people. Setting the whole show against a 'ticking bomb' scenario allows more easily to get into a more lenient mentality towards what we normally deem beyond the limits of human behaviour.
And apparently, US soldiers have been watching -- and copying.
Says the soldier interviewed on the MSNBC/Newsweek piece: "we were told that the Geneva Conventions didn't apply any more. So our training was obsolete, and we were encouraged to be creative." So they turned to the telly. Smart kids.

The question now is: can we blame the television? If so, can we control the content by issuing guidelines of what they can or cannot show? But if we do, aren't we falling back on censorship - which is probably our worse option?

Perhaps they should add on the show disclaimer 'forbidden for children below the age of 12, and easily-influenced American soldiers on duty'.