http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/keyword/torture Inquiries Journal provides undergraduate and graduate students around the world a platform for the wide dissemination of academic work over a range of core disciplines. en-us Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:20:21 -0400 Fri, 24 Apr 2026 07:20:21 -0400 http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture By Emma D. Rosner - Drawing on Jasbir Puar’s analysis of homonationalism in the post-9/11 United States, I investigate the Orientalist and Islamophobic discourses present in liberal and LGBTQ news articles and human rights reports responding to the release of torture photos from Abu Ghraib prison in May 2004. This study looks at how Western journalists and human rights organizations from diverse political and social identifications bolstered the homonationalist project in their responses to torture at Abu Ghraib. In doing so, it reveals homonationalism as a discourse with multiple iterations that differ across... Thu, 24 Sep 2020 10:18 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1801/abu-ghraib-homonationalism-and-the-rationalization-of-modern-torture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1459/terror-and-torture-in-the-21st-century-reimagining-the-american-hero By Anthony R. Brunello - In the aftermath of the attacks on September 11, 2001 fear and anger shaped American attitudes in response to terrorism. Even so, this alone does not explain how Americans became open to the use of torture during the “Global War on Terror” that followed. By 2003 Americans were overwhelmingly supportive of war in the Middle East, not only in Afghanistan but also the invasion of Iraq. Enthusiasm for war only waned as the Iraq invasion became unpopular after 2006. During these years Americans were willing to accept the policy to use torture as a necessary tactic in the “War on Terror... Fri, 14 Oct 2016 09:06 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1459/terror-and-torture-in-the-21st-century-reimagining-the-american-hero http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1070/the-bush-administration-and-torture-who-is-responsible-for-the-abuse-at-abu-ghraib By Erik Eriksen - Since first becoming public in March 2004,1 the case of the detainee abuse at the Abu Ghraib Prison2 has gained widespread interest and an important place in debates on the Iraq War. At the prison, systematic abuse of detainees, described as ‘sadistic, blatant, and wanton’, was perpetrated by military police guards.3 The guards beat prisoners; intimidated them with unmuzzled dogs; placed hooded detainees in a pyramid; carried out a range of incidents of abuse with sexual themes; and humiliated them in many other degrading ways.4 These actions are widely regarded as unlawful.5 While... Thu, 01 Jan 2015 07:58 EST http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1070/the-bush-administration-and-torture-who-is-responsible-for-the-abuse-at-abu-ghraib http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/276/the-bush-administration-torture-policy-origins-and-consequences By Jeffrey P. Fontas - In March of 2002, US intelligence and law enforcement agents, in collaboration with Pakistani security forces, raided a compound in Faisalabad, Pakistan, where they captured the first “high value detainee” in the War on Terror. Their target, Abu Zubayda, was the alleged logistics chief of Al Qaeda, an organization he joined after teaming up with the jihad against the Soviet Union during their war in Afghanistan. In the raid, he suffered three gunshot wounds, but remarkably survived; but he continued to suffer complications from them long afterward. In any event, the United States believed... Mon, 30 Aug 2010 06:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/276/the-bush-administration-torture-policy-origins-and-consequences http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/254/president-bush-the-iraq-invasion-and-enhanced-interrogation By Chelsey E. Hay - Martin Luther King, Jr. once wrote that “to ignore evil is to become an accomplice to it.”[1]  Although this statement was meant towards the civil rights movement, the idea equally applies in other instances, especially in times of war.  In March of 2003, the United States invaded Iraq in a preemptive attack against the tyrannical rule of Saddam Hussein.  Despite the fact that President Bush and his administration had advertised the war as necessary in order to protect against the weapons of mass destruction (WMD) that Hussein would use in the imminent future, it became... Wed, 16 Jun 2010 07:42 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/254/president-bush-the-iraq-invasion-and-enhanced-interrogation http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/250/the-bush-administration-human-rights-and-a-culture-of-torture By Christopher P. Federici - For most Americans, 9/11 represents a turning point for our country. It is the beginning of a new chapter in our relations to the world and how we view our place in it. It is the beginning of a chapter where the American commitment to human rights was put in doubt, war was waged, and potential crimes were committed in the name of national security. The nineties by comparison were a prosperous time for Americans and the country. The economy grew by leaps and bounds; democracy was flourishing throughout the world. Even our old enemy, the mighty Soviet Union, turned out to be nothing more than lies... Wed, 12 May 2010 08:05 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/250/the-bush-administration-human-rights-and-a-culture-of-torture http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1262/torturing-america-securing-the-american-interest By Zain Pasha - Even before his inauguration, President Barack Obama made it clear that he believed torture was morally reprehensible and promised that under his administration the U.S. would no longer practice torture.1 Accordingly, on April 16th, 2009 Mr. Obama and the U.S. Department of Justice authorized the release of C.I.A memos detailing the methods of torture that were authorized under the George W. Bush administration.2 The release of the C.I.A. memos elicited an almost immediate reaction from former Vice President Richard Bruce Cheney, who in an interview with Fox News on April 21st, 2009 criticized... Thu, 15 Apr 2010 12:00 EDT http://www.inquiriesjournal.com/articles/1262/torturing-america-securing-the-american-interest