UN Discovers 'Torture' Just Another Policy
Mainstream media, bless its heart, frames this as a fresh indictment. But for anyone paying attention, 'de facto policy of torture' is just fancy UN-speak for business as usual. Remember when Amnesty International documented the same techniques—stress positions, sleep deprivation, beatings—in 1990? Or when the UN Committee Against Torture raised similar concerns in 2019, long before current
events? The only 'new' part here is the BBC finally deeming it newsworthy, perhaps because the 'denials' are starting to sound a bit hollow after 37,000+ deaths in Gaza. One might wonder at what point a 'de facto policy' transitions into, say, just 'policy.' How many reports, how many broken bones, how many disappeared Palestinians does it take for international bodies to call a spade a spade? The
cycle is predictable: report emerges, 'Israel denies allegations,' US politicians approve another aid package. It's almost as if some countries just get a pass on adhering to international law, especially when their lobbyists—like AIPAC, which spent $14.2 million in 2022 and $13.7 million in 2023 lobbying Congress (OpenSecrets.org)—are so effective at ensuring unquestioning support.