Since the start of the GWOT, hundreds of allegations of torture and abuse have come to the attention of the internatinal media. Amnesty International reports Guantanomo Bay is “the gulag of our time.” Detainees sent back to their countries of origin claim they were tortured in a wide array of ways including by getting a lap dance. Protests have been sparked by allegations of Koran desecration where people have died. The first thing a lawyer for any of the detainees says during an interview is that their client maintains they were tortured in an American prison.

What would all these people and groups say if they found out these allegations are just another way for Al Qaida to fight in its global jihad? It’s time to start answering that question as the Washington Times reports such allegations of abuse are detailed in an Al Qaida handbook for any captured jihadist.

In a raid on an al Qaeda cell in Manchester, British authorities seized al Qaeda’s most extensive manual for how to wage war.

A directive lists one mission as “spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy.”

If captured, the manual states, “At the beginning of the trial … the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by state security before the judge. Complain of mistreatment while in prison.”

The handbook instructs commanders to make sure operatives, or “brothers,” understand what to say if captured.

“Prior to executing an operation, the commander should instruct his soldiers on what to say if they are captured,” the document says. “He should explain that more than once in order to ensure that they have assimilated it. They should, in turn, explain it back to the commander.”

Perhaps the most interesting piece of information to come out of this is whether or not the world media will understand that they are in fact aiding and abetting the enemy by reproducing allegations of torture and not fully explaining they are in fact allegations and not the truth. While there have been some instances of abuse, they are few and far between, but that is not how the media has wanted to portray it.

Alleging torture is an Al Qaida tactic to win the hearts and minds of people accross the globe. The coverage recieved and the subsequent backlash against the United States has afforded the terror group new recruits, new funding and new sympathy. This is a very clever piece of information that needs to be brought to the forefront, discussed in depth at all media outlets and publicized greatly by the United States military.

If this handbook is widely publicized will it effect coverage? Probably not as the media as a whole runs a double standard when it comes to detainees in the GWOT alleging abuse and allegations for a criminal trial. In a criminal trial, alleged criminals are awarded the same mantra of “innocent until proven guilty,” a just courtesy and right of our nation. In these trials our media goes out of their way at times to make sure the reader knows these are simply allegations against a defendent and not necessarily what has actually occured. In the case of detainees versus U.S. military abuse, our media is so happy to print/televise alleged instances of abuse without assuming the U.S. military personnel is innocent until proven guilty. They’ve lost their rights in the eyes of the media and the media instead give the detainees backing for their allegations.

Over the past two years, I’ve sat back and seen several allegations of torture ranging from the ridiculous to the incredible and I have not posted on one allegation without disclosing how silly the claim is. It is not because I do not believe such abuses occur, it is that I prefer to give the benefit of the doubt to the U.S. soldiers who are just like you and me. Some of my friends are fighting in the GWOT and I know they are decent and honest men and women. Why can’t the media give the same benefit of doubt?

The Big Picture linked with Quantanamo Inmates Were Trained To Fabricate Allegations of Abuse
Diggers Realm linked with Increase In Torture Claims Due To Al-Qaeda Handbook
The Jawa Report linked with Al Qaeda Handbook: "Claim the Americans are torturing you."