Torture Artwork Release by Guantanamo Detainee

Michael Borys

Staff Writer

Guantanamo Bay prisoner Abu Zubaydah released images of the CIA’s tortute program that President Bush approved of. Zubaydah was taken to a C.IA. black site in Thailand.  Zubaydah sketched images of the various torture tactics that the CIA used in their secret prisons. These actions by the CIA were as a result of the terrorist attacks performed by Al Qaeda in 2001. Mr. Zubaydah was the first prisoner to ever be interrogated in the CIA’s new torure program. 

Two C.I.A. psychologists were to create a program that would use violence, sleep deprivation, and isolation on more than 100 different men in different secret bases. Some are even described as dungeons.  

Obama outlawed this program more than a decade ago. They then went on to partly declassify a senate study that found the C.I.A. lied about both its effectiveness and its brutality. The program was initially set up for Mr. Zubaydah, who was mistakenly believed to be a top Al Qaeda lieutenant. Analysis showed that while Zubaydah was a jihadist, he had no knowledge of the 9/11 attacks, and he wasn’t a member of Al Queda either. 

Zubaydah was captured in a gun battle in Faisalabad, Pakistan in March of 2002. He had a gunshot wound in his leg, and the U.S. sent him to the overseas prison network. He is the first known person to be waterboarded by the U.S. Which occurred 83 times. Zubaydah said “completely unresponsive, with bubbles rising through his open, full mouth.” Zubaydah expereinced many different torture tactics such as waterboarding, stress positions, short shackling, walling, large confinement box, small confinement box, and sleep deprivation. 

Zubaydah has never been charged with a crime, and military prosecutors have no intent to do so either. 

Mr. Rutledge has Completed his Doctorate

Jake Saxton

Staff Writer

This past summer Dr. Brian Rutledge, completed his doctorate degree at the University of West Florida. This process took six years to complete and consisted of 16 courses, which also included a comprehensive exam on everything he had learned. After the exam Dr. Rutledge, than had to begin his dissertation titled:  Integrating technology in a middle school classroom.

The one challenge for him throughout his experience completing his doctorate was being a cyber student for the first time. This was difficult because he couldn’t have any face to face contact with his editors or professors, it was all online feedback given back to him, which can be difficult to interpret his editors or professors feedback. However, during this process Dr. Rutledge had responsibilities that he had to keep up to speed with as well. When interviewing Dr. Rutledge he stated that he had never done more reading or writing in his life. After all his courses and competing his exam this is when he began writing his dissertation: He wrote the first 3 chapters of it which were around 80-90 pages the topics were: What, Why and How. After writing these he than had to defend that verbally. Once he got the approval, he then began Chapter 4 (Report of Findings) and Chapter 5 (Conclusions) after these two chapters he had to defend that verbally again. The dissertation took 2 years to write and consisted of 208 pages. 

Dr. Rutledge wanted to complete his Doctorates Degree is because he eventually wants to teach at a college level. He wishes to be a professor at a college and teach at the highest level.