Before the US invasion of Iraq, before the American public saw the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib, the CIA went to the White House with a question: What, according to the Constitution, was the line separating interrogation from torture—and could that line be moved? The White House lawyers' answer—in the form of legal documents later known as the "Torture Memos"—became the US's justification for engaging in torture. The Torturer in the Mirror shows us how when one of us tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. In three uncompromising essays, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer teach us how physically and psychologically insidious torture is, how deep a mark it leaves on both its victims and its practitioners, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers accountable.
“This is an indispensable, powerful, well-written book about torture that packs a lot into a few clearly written pages. It dispenses with the endless scholasticism that seems to be the rage in America when writing about the US torture program. This book says something new—read it and be surprised.” –Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
RAMSEY CLARK is an attorney, teacher and writer. He served as attorney general of the United States during the Johnson Administration. He is actively engaged in practice of law, in fields of law, peace, disarmament, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, health, education, and others. In 1991 he founded the International Action Center. THOMAS EHRLICH REIFER is an educator from California. HAIFA ZANGANA is an Iraqi political commentator, novelist, and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein’s regime. She is a weekly columnist for al-Quds newspaper and a commentator for the Guardian, Red Pepper, and al-Ahram Weekly. She lives in London.
Before the US invasion of Iraq, before the American public saw the infamous photos from Abu Ghraib, the CIA went to the White House with a question: What, according to the Constitution, was the line separating interrogation from torture—and could that line be moved? The White House lawyers' answer—in the form of legal documents later known as the "Torture Memos"—became the US's justification for engaging in torture. The Torturer in the Mirror shows us how when one of us tortures, we are all implicated in the crime. In three uncompromising essays, Iraqi dissident Haifa Zangana, former US Attorney General Ramsey Clark, and professor of sociology Thomas Ehrlich Reifer teach us how physically and psychologically insidious torture is, how deep a mark it leaves on both its victims and its practitioners, and how necessary it is for us as a society to hold torturers accountable.
Praise
“This is an indispensable, powerful, well-written book about torture that packs a lot into a few clearly written pages. It dispenses with the endless scholasticism that seems to be the rage in America when writing about the US torture program. This book says something new—read it and be surprised.” –Michael Ratner, President, Center for Constitutional Rights
Author
RAMSEY CLARK is an attorney, teacher and writer. He served as attorney general of the United States during the Johnson Administration. He is actively engaged in practice of law, in fields of law, peace, disarmament, human rights, civil rights, civil liberties, voting rights, health, education, and others. In 1991 he founded the International Action Center. THOMAS EHRLICH REIFER is an educator from California. HAIFA ZANGANA is an Iraqi political commentator, novelist, and former prisoner of Saddam Hussein’s regime. She is a weekly columnist for al-Quds newspaper and a commentator for the Guardian, Red Pepper, and al-Ahram Weekly. She lives in London.
