America's Disappeared: Secret Imprisonment, Detainees, and the War on Terror

by Rachel Meeropol, Reed Brody

The confirmation proceedings for Alberto R. Gonzales and Condeleeza Rice, like the Abu Ghraib prison scandal, triggered a national debate about the U.S. government’s controversial treatment of detainees and its practice of torture. At the heart of the debate is the question: Is the United States undermining democracy, freedom, and human rights in it’s effort to protect its citizens from terrorism? The authors of AMERICA'S DISAPPEARED answer, yes.
AMERICA'S DISAPPEARED describes how the U.S. government, in response to the events of 9/11, launched an unprecedented campaign of racial profiling, detentions, and deportations so grievous as to evoke the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II. It brings together, for the first time, detainees’ own testimonies along with analysis by the leading constitutional attorneys and human rights advocates. In addition to a detailed exploration of detention—the forms currently in use, and the conditions of each—the book challenges the Bush administration’s justifications for violating the Geneva Conventions and the most basic definitions of human rights.

248 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2004

Reviews

[Elaine Hargrove · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book to read if you want to understand the problems at Guantanamo more deeply than just what's on the nightly news. The chapter by Barbara Olshansky, "What Does It Mean to be an 'Enemy Combatant'?" is excellent for its analysis of case and constitutional law regarding presidential powers. Perhaps a little difficult legal reading for the average person.

[Fred · Rating 3 out of 5]

frightening and worrying