The death of an Afghani taxi driver in US military custody is at the center of this disturbing documentary about the Bush administration’s policy on detainee interrogation techniques — what Gibney and others call torture. Five days after taxi-driver Dilawar was turned over to US military detention he was found dead. A medical examiner confirmed that he had been standing for hours with his hands secured to the ceiling, kicked to a “pulp.”
Director Alex Gibney (ENRON: THE SMARTEST GUYS IN THE ROOM) takes us on a ferocious journey from a small Afghani village to Guantanamo Bay to the international embarrassment of Abu Ghraib and all the way to the White House. All the elements of this infuriating, ongoing news story are factors in the fate of one unfortunate man, but Dilawar isn’t the only victim. The film also exposes the devastated lives on the front lines — mistaken suspects, local families, and US soldiers alike.
Gibney’s wide net pulls in Afghani farmers, low-ranking military personnel (including those who beat Dilawar), politicians such as Senator Carl Levin and policy makers. Of particular interest is former Justice Department Official John Yoo, whose internal memo on interrogation techniques articulates the administration’s justifications for its policies.
Dilawar is dead and American soldiers who thought they were following orders are being held accountable for their actions. They may, according to Gibney, simply be scapegoats for policy makers who deliberately cast aside the Geneva conventions that have long protected soldiers at war.