Semantics in the War on Terror

I think it's time that some new vocabulary words get used when describing the torture methods still being used by the U.S. government.  Stress Positions?  Nope, how about Crucification.  In her recent New Yorker article, Jane Mayer writes of Manadel al-Jamedi that "A forensic examiner found that he had essentially been crucified; he died from asphyxiation after having been hung by his arms, in a hood, and suffering broken ribs."  While this is a disturbing image, it is also possibly the image most associated with the War on Terror.  When you hear the words Abu Ghraib, what do you think of?

For more on this exact subject, a recent Antiwar Radio interview with Daphne Eviater is very informative.  Host Scott Horton makes the comparison to the murder of Jesus, and asks, "There are a million ways to beat someone up.  Couldn't you do it without crucifying someone?"  A very good question indeed.