Al Qaeda Drawings of Torture

Smoking Gun is hosting a gallery of illustrated depictions of supposed Al Qaeda torture techniques, allegedly confiscated from a terrorist safe house in Iraq. And it appears that these may be more than just lurid wish fulfillment with pen and paper:

Along with the images, which you'll find on the following pages, soldiers seized various torture implements, like meat cleavers, whips, and wire cutters. Photos of those items can be seen here. The images, which were just declassified by the Department of Defense, also include a picture of a ramshackle Baghdad safe house described as an "al-Qaeda torture chamber." It was there, during an April 24 raid, that soldiers found a man suspended from the ceiling by a chain. According to the military, he had been abducted from his job and was being beaten daily by his captors.

One of the things that's clear from looking at the grisly images (which I looked through with as much morbid fascination as disgust, I have to admit) is that these torture techniques aren't aimed at securing intelligence: it's just pure, unrepentant sadism. I'm not saying the former is any less morally reprehensible, I'm just commenting on the fact that you don't saw off a guy's arm with a hacksaw unless mutilating another human being is the only goal.

Torture, Al-Qaeda Style [The Smoking Gun]