Torture and the Military Profession

I’m reading this article in the Washington Post (if they make you sign up, it is a free account) about foreign perceptions on our torture policies.  It goes on to say that one of the biggest selling points for non-Iraqi opponents who fight US troops in Iraq was that they all believe that we torture prisoners, and that recent policies which may condone torture led them to believe they’d be severely tortured.  From the article:

It’s no exaggeration to say that at least half of our losses and casualties in that country have come at the hands of foreigners who joined the fray because of our program of detainee abuse. The number of U.S. soldiers who have died because of our torture policy will never be definitively known, but it is fair to say that it is close to the number of lives lost on Sept. 11, 2001.

That’s a pretty bold statement, and also where today’s book comes in:  Torture and the Military Profession by Jessica Wolfendale.  Wolfendale presents the point of view that torture done by a military, sanctioned or not, may be a direct result of military training methods.  She also calls for a dramatic change in how military troops are cultivated to have less of a psychological impact that could cause these behaviors. While I’m not sure I agree with all of her points, it is an interesting take on how some recent events may have come about.