Battleangel

It is not entirely surprising that US citizens are increasingly being subjected to the very same abusive treatment, which we have come to know from America’s imperial armies overseas. In fact, it would be far too kind to denote this as simply a case of chickens coming home to roost. One could argue over chickens and eggs all day, and trace brutal law enforcement methods back through history, correlating them to the militarization of the US, but while focusing strictly on this “war on terror” it seems fairly clear that there were plenty of roosting chickens to begin with, even if every foreign “enterprise” aggravates the situation. Conditions in the US prison system remain as inhumane as ever and there is no way to resolve the situation without recognizing both the “chicken” (foreign military action) and the “egg” (domestic preconditions), as it were. But for Americans to acknowledge that both their own society and their foreign policy are on the wrong track — and have been for a long time, not to mention that there is a connection — well, that just isn’t very likely.

Donald Vance, a 29-year-old Navy veteran from Chicago, was a whistle-blower who prompted the raid by tipping off the F.B.I. to suspicious activity at the company where he worked, including possible weapons trafficking. He was arrested and held for 97 days — shackled and blindfolded, prevented from sleeping by blaring music and round-the-clock lights. In other words, he was subjected to the same mistreatment that thousands of non-Americans have been subjected to since the 2003 invasion.

Even after the military learned who Mr. Vance was, they continued to hold him in these abusive conditions for weeks more. He was not allowed to defend himself at the Potemkin hearing held to justify his detention. And that was special treatment. As an American citizen, he was at least allowed to attend his hearing. An Iraqi, or an Afghani, or any other foreigner, would have been barred from the room.