I wrote about the undercover mission of the International Spy Museum in Washington last year, especially its not-so-subtle message that torture was a policy option, not a war crime.
Now the Spy Museum is recalibrating the exhibit to get on the right side of the law.
From Buzzfeed News
The new exhibit will focus more broadly on the history of interrogation, to include both coercive methods (physical and psychological) and non-coercive methods (such as rapport building),” reads the Dec. 20 letter to Sens. Dianne Feinstein, Martin Heinrich, and Ron Wyden. “We also intend to add content on scientific and technical innovations to detect deceit (to include a polygraph artifact), as well as legal definitions of torture.”
Here’s the exhibit as I saw it last May.
Another room examines the issue of torture with candor. It features a replica of the box, smaller than a coffin, into which al Qaeda operation Abu Zubeydah was stuffed to make him talk. U.S. officials thought he was high-ranking operative who planned operations. He wasn’t. He was the equivalent of a clerk who knew little. He was tortured anyway. “Comfortable?” asks the sign on the box. Subliminal message: Terror suspects don’t deserve comfort.
On a big screen, the issue is debated with impeccable balance. Law professor Alberto Mora argues that torture is repugnant to the American creed of inalienable rights. Jose Rodriguez, former CIA operations chief and mentor to director Gina Haspel, counters that torture saved lives. “Some day you will learn the whole story,” he says.
In fact, the Senate Intelligence Committee reviewed the classified record in 2014 and found no examples of torture preventing a terror attack. The CIA suppressed the full report.
The exhibit ends with an opportunity to vote on the question, “Would you be willing to have the U.S. government torture suspected terrorist if they knew about future attacks?” Torture wins, 63-37 percent. Unclassified Message: Torture is a policy option.
Maybe the Spy Museum had become more respectful of international and U.S. law. I’ll report back when the new exhibit goes up.
Source: The Spy Museum Is Now Planning To Overhaul Its Controversial Torture Exhibit
