The Boston Globe is carrying a story about a Canadian database programmer that went to Afghanistan to cover the war. He’s not a professional reporter, although he did manage to get paid for 10 of his reports. With only a cell phone and maps, he planned to walk to Kandahar from 60 miles away. He wanted to get the real story of the war.
He was captured.
After being shackled to the wall of the jail for six days, his Afghani captors had a “trial” in which the hapless Canadian was accused/convicted of being a spy. Of course, he was the victim of racial profiling: the practice of backward countries with oppressive regimes that target suspects based on the color of their skin or sound of their name.
At the pleading of diplomats, he was released. His former captors were concerned of his “sour grapes” over his treatment. To allay their fears, he said “Don’t worry. It’s not the worst prison I’ve ever been in. It’s not even the second-worst.”
I can only imagine that this cruel indictment of shoddy Afghani torture methods will prompt a thorough shake down and moderization of techiques. Sure, Afghani prisons may not be the worst in the world yet, but there’s always next year.