Torture: Like Deja Vu...in Reverse

NPR's ATC tonight covered the special prosecutor's report about torture in Chicago's police department that started in the 1970's and continued on through the 80's. This is familiar to me since I lived in Chicago in the 80's and went down to the station run by Burge to protest the torture there. The Chicago Reader covered the case several times and its reporter, John Conroy, included the events in a book he wrote on torture. In a 2005 article Conroy makes the case for the fact that Burge learned his "dark arts" in the US military during the Vietnam War. Why didn't NPR search out Mr. Conroy for this piece tonight? Amy Goodman managed to interview him recently. Why don't they connect the dots? Torture is not a new aberration that cropped up at Abu Ghraib...the only new thing is that it's been official policy of the Bush administration. This piece on NPR could have been an excellent look into the abuse of human rights in US prisons, the CIA, and the military. Instead it makes it look like Burge and his detectives were just a few bad apples who have gotten away with it due to the statute of limitations. Sounds like the Bush line doesn't it? If you want to read more about this case here is a good link.