In 2005, “There was a sharp a decline, for instance, in disapproval of waterboarding and of chaining naked prisoners in uncomfortable positions in the cold. The more spy shows people have watched, she said, the more enthusiastic they are about torture. . . . “I think the evidence is that television is shifting views,” said Ms. Zegart. “Entertainment has an alarming impact.’”

Sleep deprivation is the purpose of “chaining naked prisoners in uncomfortable positions,” which Solzhenitsysn said was the worst torture of all. Of course, there is now no obstacle to doing that against our own internal “enemies of the state,” once they are given over to the military for disposition under the law of war, as Solzhenitsyn was.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/13/us/zero-dark-thirty-torture-scenes-reopen-debate.html?pagewanted=2&hp&pagewanted=all&pagewanted=print

 

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December 12, 2012

Portrayal of C.I.A. Torture in Bin Laden Film Reopens a Debate

By SCOTT SHANE