From Shamnesty International:
The torture and abuse of terrorist suspects is very much in the news these days, so it’s interesting to note the advice on the topic found in an Al Qaeda training manual seized some time ago in the U.K. The manual says that when captured or facing trial, ‘brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by State Security.’ Noting the utility of the open U.S. media, the manual also calls ‘spreading rumors and writing statements that instigate people against the enemy’ one of the top-five missions of the terrorist organization.This is not to say that torture and abuse at the hands of American troops is always a figment of Al Qaeda propaganda: The Abu Ghraib prison scandal proves otherwise. But the manual sure puts Amnesty International’s newest annual report, as well as recent claims of torture, Koran desecration, and other abuse, in perspective.