Torture Versus Humiliation

A Navy POW from Gulf War, CAPT Larry "Rat" Slade, retired recently with the ordeal of his capture still vivid in his mind.

During his 22 years in the Navy, he flew in the backseat of a Tomcat fighter over four combat zones, graduated from Top Gun school and won the naval flight officer of the year award.

But one moment of Slade's career fails to fold neatly into a shadow box with a flag, ribbons and medals.

On Jan. 21, 1991, a cloudy, damp night over Baghdad, an Iraqi anti-aircraft missile blew the tail off his Oceana-based jet at 25,000 feet. Slade and the pilot, Lt. Devon "Boots" Jones, ejected safely and floated into the enemy's desert a mile apart. Jones was rescued. Slade was captured.

For the next 43 days, Slade endured interrogation, torture and starvation at the hands of Iraqis. The military code burned in his mind: "I will evade answering further questions to the utmost of my ability."

It still smolders: Did he resist to the utmost of his ability?

"I struggle with that question today," he said.

During a rare interview, Slade recalled the still-vivid pictures of being shot down in combat. As his F-14 tumbled toward the desert floor and with his altimeter unable to track the smoky and rapid descent he ejected at 10,000 feet and landed in a remote, rocky region outside the Iraqi capital a few miles from the burning wreck of his airplane.

He sent out emergency signals religiously. No answer came.

The next morning, an Iraqi soldier and Bedouin stumbled upon his hiding spot. The young Navy lieutenant, armed with only a snub-nosed .38 caliber revolver, surrendered. "I had no expectation of living through the experience the moment I was captured," he said.

Jones, his pilot, evaded capture and was rescued by a special Air Force unit.

Once captured, the Iraqi took Slade to a secret, high-security prison and kept him in solitary confinement. The Iraqis videotaped Slade and other prisoners and broadcast their capture to the world.

At the prison, interrogators questioned Slade repeatedly about his target and other military intelligence. "I was going to fight every single one," he said during the interview at his office.

The Iraqis met his stubbornness with violence. They smashed his nose and teeth, and pummelled his ribs and spine with a bat. They threatened to kill him."Day by day, Rat," he told himself. "Day by day."

In late February, American air dominance over Iraq expanded. An allied bombing raid severely damaged the secret prison. The prisoners were then transferred to a municipal facility in Baghdad - now famously known as Abu Ghraib where Slade endured more days with nothing more than soup - "oily water" - for sustenance.

During his 43 days of captivity, Slade had lost 45 pounds. The Iraqi beatings left him with permanent damage to his organs and spine.


Soap Box Ravings says: "Torture is the destruction of tissue which causes grievous and often permanent damage to the human body. Humiliation makes you feel upset without causing damage to the body.

This is posted only so those of the liberal persuasion can learn about the subtle differences between when Saddam Hussein controlled Abu Ghraib prison and the United States controlled the same prison.