No Good Deed Info
(7/3/18 This is a reposting of a blog post I did about my research for No Good Deed on my previous blog. The cover over there is the old cover. I’m keeping it here for old time’s sake. 🙂 )
In light of the recent declassification of the CIA Torture Reports, I’ve been thinking a lot about the “enhanced interrogation” I depicted in No Good Deed. The more I read of the reports, the more I think I got right. Caveat– I have not seen anything saying that torture was used against an American citizen as it does in No Good Deed. That part is fiction. Probably.
However, that picture right over there?
That is an actual photo of Jose Padilla, one of the three American citizens held as an enemy combatant. He had no trial until something like seven years after he had been held in a brig. I believe that photo was taken when he had to be escorted to see a dentist. The one below is after they put the blackout goggles and sound canceling earphones on his head. To go to the dentist. Anyway…
And as I read the reports, I thought of a review No Good Deed recently received that said:
“…the post-9/11 enhanced interrogation was old news. Not that it isn’t horrific, but it’s just not current. Terminology such as ‘enemy combatant’ is endemic to the vernacular of anyone who reads any news in 2014.
I normally wouldn’t call out a less than stellar review, because, really, what author wants to put any spotlight on a review where the reader didn’t connect with the story? However, in this case, I’m mentioning it because of the remark that the topic is “old news”. Heh. I just was at Google News and here is the sidebar list of Top Stories:
TortureGolden Globe AwardsRepublican PartyArizona CardinalsCaliforniaEbola virus diseaseAngelina JolieLos Angeles LakersKabulSony Corporation
…Whatever possessed our country’s policy makers to give a green light to the torturing of others? …
…I will never think of torture in the same light again. ..
…How do you deal with government incarceration, physical torture and mental dismantling? …
…The author also makes you sit back and think about what is going on in the world of our anti-terrorism policies….
… The author’s description of waterboarding & other inhuman torture methods is chilling and all too believable. …
…Fluid writing style with an in-depth look at what its like to be tortured by your own government. … The torture scenes are not overly graphic and you can easily skip the most gruesome parts. …
…One thing that I really liked was how the author handled the political question of whether torture is a viable means of getting answers and information from terrorists. …
…regardless of your politics, should get you thinking. Are the responses to 9/11 making the US a better or worse place to live?…
However, I also did try to show the other side to the story, as noted in the review snippet below:
…The character development in this story is superb. Mark is the main character, but McDonald does a great job of showing the point of view of several other characters, including one of the interrogators who is involved with Mark and his situation. I liked the depth of it in showing what Mark was going through, as well as the turmoil and ethical issues the investigators were enduring…
…No Good Deed reveals the good and the bad about our government and the desire to take care of us. …
…This book is a real eye-opener about the Govt. Enhanced Integration program and the zeal of certain people get when doing their job of torture…
***
Here is another even older blog post:
I have no sympathy for terrorists. When I first heard the term enemy combatant, I thought, “Hell yeah! Give ’em what they deserve!” I didn’t go much beyond that. As far as I was concerned, out of sight, out of mind. I remember reading about the ‘dirty bomber’ Jose Padilla. He was accused of plotting to detonate a ‘dirty bomb’ in a U.S. city. The guy, in my mind, was the lowest of the low, and no punishment would be too harsh.
Then I saw a picture of Padilla taken when he was taken out of his cell for a dental visit.
The ‘swat team’ surrounding the chained guy, and the blackout goggles and earphones seemed like overkill. What can’t be seen in this pic, but I read descriptions of, are the mitts used on his hands too, so that basically, the only sense he has is smell and taste. Touch is only through his feet and if any of the guards hold on to his arms.
While I thought the security was a bit overboard, I still didn’t think too much about it. Then came the controversy of water-boarding. Maybe because I’ve seen people gasping for breath too many times, seen the fear in their eyes but that form of interrogation made me sick. I still didn’t think it was too harsh for terrorists, and in fact, even with all I know now, I don’t think it should be totally banned. Btw, I’ve never come across confirmation that this happened to Padilla. His lawyer–when he finally got one–said yes, it happened, but Padilla says no, that he was treated well. (As he looks over his shoulder to make sure nobody is lurking.)
See, the thing that gets me is Padilla is an American citizen, but he was held for years without a trial. Yes, there was some evidence, but it wasn’t ‘smoking gun’ ironclad, as far as I could tell. The guy is no choir boy, that’s for certain. He’s a former Chicago gangbanger, and for that alone, I wouldn’t care if he was locked up for the rest of his life–after a fair trial and guilty verdict. That’s what was missing. Even if Padilla is 100% guilty of everything they initially accused him of doing, there still should have been a trial or Padilla given the right to waive a trial if he decided to plead guilty. Then he should have been formally sentenced to whatever term that crime deserves. That’s how the judicial system works. Only he never really got into the judicial system. Once he was designated an enemy combatant, he no longer was entitled to those rights. That is a terrifying outcome.
What if an innocent person was caught in that endless pit? How could he/she fight for their freedom if they are never even given a chance? If the person ever did get out, how would that affect them? What kind of life would they return to?
So, that was where my muse for NO GOOD DEED came from. An interesting thing came out of writing it. I have a ‘bad’ guy in the book. He’s one of the interrogators. The more I was in his head, looking at it from his angle, the more I realized what a difficult position it was. As the book progresses, even my protagonist has a moment of revelation about how hard it would be to have that kind of responsibility.
