Shadow of Torture: Debating US Transgressions in Military Interventions, 1899-2008

The photographs from Abu Ghraib triggered a debate on torture in the United States that has been led with a significant amount of visibility. What has been noticeably absent, however, is a thorough historical contextualization of US torture following September 11, 2001. The Shadow of Torture analyzes the debates on torture during the Vietnam War and the Philippine-American War and shows that the current controversy did not arise out of a political vacuum but reflects and draws upon pre-existing discursive contexts and practices.

Autorentext

Katrin Dauenhauer is a lecturer at the University of Bonn's North American Studies Program. Her research focuses on American politics and culture, international relations, and human rights.

Inhalt

Contents: Introduction: Debating US Torture in Military Interventions, 1899-2008 - «Curing» the Natives: Debating US Torture During the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 - Forgetting/Rewriting/Reclaiming: Shadows of the Philippine-American War, 1899-1902 - To Tell or Not to Tell: American Atrocities in Vietnam - Framing the Human: Reading North Vietnamese Torture in POW Narratives of the Vietnam War - Abu Ghraib and the (Unexceptional) Rhetoric of the Exceptional.