07. Where Are the Women?: The Representation of Gendered Wartime Violence at Abu Ghraib in U.S. Newspapers

In April of 2004, newspapers in the United States began to print stories unveiling the abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S. military personnel at Abu Ghraib, a prison in Iraq appropriated for use by the U.S. military. This study examines how a number of newspapers portrayed gender in relation to the abuses at Abu Ghraib and considers what these depictions may suggest about the public acceptance of wartime violence as it links to gender. Literature indicates that gender-based violence during conflict is primarily perpetrated against women, yet content analysis of articles related to Abu Ghraib in the top three national newspapers from 2004-2020 reveals few articles that mention the female prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Instead, the news stories created a narrative in the U.S. that revolved almost exclusively around the male detainees and the U.S. military personnel. Conversely, female Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib, despite also experiencing verbal, physical, and sexual abuse, were largely left out of this narrative. Viewed through a feminist lens, findings suggest that when the news of Abu Ghraib had to be released to the American public, the emphasis was placed almost exclusively on the abuses against male Iraqi prisoners, which might evoke less lasting outrage than the abuses against female Iraqi prisoners would have done. Future research is needed to uncover the reasons for the absence of female Iraqi prisoners in the narrative, and to further investigate the media depiction of the female experience during warfare, in general

Iraqi Prisoners in Norway: Educational Background, Participation, Preferences and Barriers to Education

The article aimed to develop knowledge of the educational background, participation and preferences of Iraqi prisoners in Norwegian prisons and obstacles to participating in education. The study is based on interviews with 17 prisoners in three prisons. An important finding is that war and political unrest appear to have been significant causes for respondents to leaving education at various stages. As a result only half of them have as much as one final exam and only three respondents have a certificate of education. Even if the respondents want an education while in prison, and although education is offered in all prisons there is a lack of information about educational opportunities in an understandable language and long waiting time for a place at school. An implication of the study is that the criminal administration system and the educational authorities must take into account the multicultural reality by facilitating education and training offers accordingly

“The Shadow of Torture: Debating US Transgressions in Military Interventions, 1899-2008 (Book Review)” by Katrin Dauenhauer & “America in the Philippines, 1899-1902. The First Torture Scandal (Book Review)” by Christopher J. Einolf

Review of Torpedo: Inventing the Military-Industrial Complex in the United States and Great Britain by Katherine C. Epstein Review of The Shadow of Torture: Debating US Transgressions in Military Interventions, 1899-2008 by Katrin Dauenhaue

Rape talks louder than guns feminising men via wartime rape in Judith Thompson's Palace of the End

Wartime rape is a widespread phenomenon that accompanies most wars and conflicts, especially contemporary ones, yet there is much misconception about it. Earlier studies done on war rape focused exclusively on the experiences of female victims. Men as victims of war rape is a topic not many are familiar with or even aware of. The inclusion of men as victims of rape is very rare in society. Moreover, the rape of women often finds its way to the stage, but not the rape of men. Thus, the rape of men in time of war has been overlooked due to unfamiliarity with the topic or to the myth of the invulnerability of man to rape. More importantly, wartime man rape is not taken into consideration as a strategic weapon. Thus, the present study aims to explore the sexual victimisation of men in times of war as an orchestrated combat tool. It investigates the reasons why American combatants raped Iraqi prisoners in Judith Thompson's play Palace of the End. Inger Skjelsbæk’s Social Constructionist Concept is used to explain the rationale behind wartime man rape and to map out the mechanism of its victimisation and perpetration. The present study concludes that men can be victimised like women by rape. In addition, the present study contributes a new understanding of the strategic function of rape with the inclusion of male rape. More importantly, it concludes that the rape of male prisoners in this play is not a natural consequence of war stemming from sensuality or abnormality but a pre-planned institutional act to dominate the perceived enemy

The UK, interrogation and Iraq, 2003-8

The UK’s interrogation operations during the conflict in Iraq (2003-8) are often portrayed by the media as involving significant amounts of mistreatment. The article demonstrates that these practices are not necessarily representative of the UK’s interrogation operations across this conflict. In doing so it contributes to the limited literature on the practice of interrogation and on the UK’s combat operations in Iraq. The UK’s interrogation capability, and therefore its intelligence-gathering capability, is shown to have rested primarily with the military’s Joint Forward Interrogation Team (JFIT). The JFIT suffered from limitations to the number, training and experience of its interrogators and interpreters. It is argued that maintaining a permanent, higher level of preparedness, for interrogation by the British armed forces is desirable

Pixelated flesh

The pixel and the technique of pixelating faces belong to a politics of fear and a digital aesthetics of truth which shapes public perceptions of criminality and the threat of otherness. This article will draw on Paul Virilio's account of the pixel in Lost Dimension in order to analyze its specific role and operation in relation to contemporary representations of incarceration. In particular, the article will consider the figure of the incarcerated informant. The incarcerated criminal or informant plays a complex role as both subversive other and purveyor of truth and as such constitutes an important example of the ways in which pixelation functions as a visible signifier of a dangerous truth whilst blurring, erasing and, ultimately, dehumanizing those "speaking" this truth. Our discussion forms part of a larger analysis of the production, framing and circulation of images of otherness, identifying Virilio as key to debates around the violence of the screen

The Garden

An essay about the importance of human rights in American foreign policy, framed through the work of Thomas Jefferson. Inspired by the author’s visit to the Jefferson Memorial and the American garden in Washington D.C