Johann Hari: The Republicans' dirty secret... torture

Allen West oversaw the brutal treatment of an Iraqi. Now he is running for Congress

So what will be left of the Republican Party after next week's US election? The answer lies in the sands of Florida, where the sunshine-state Republicans have nominated an unrepentant torturer as their candidate for Congress. They view his readiness to torture an innocent Iraqi not as a source of shame, but as his prime qualification for office. This is American conservatism in the dying days of Bush – and it points out the direction that Sarah Palin would like to take it in 2012.

In August 2003, Colonel Allen West – commanding a US unit in Baghdad – heard a rumour that one of the Iraqi policeman he was working with was a secret insurgent. He ordered his officers to go and seize Yehiya Hamoodi, a thin, bespectacled 31-year-old, from his home. They dragged him into a Humvee, beat him, and then handcuffed, shackled and blindfolded him. In a dank interrogation room, they told him he had better start talking

Yehiya explained he didn't know what they were talking about. West told Yehiya he was going to be killed. While his men beat him again, he explained he had one last chance to save his life – by talking.

Yehiya protested: I am innocent! What are you talking about? So West took him outside, had him pinned down, and began to shoot. He fired into the air and right next to his head. Then he began to count down from five. Finally Yehiya began to scream out names – any name he could think of, just to make it stop.

The men he named were seized and roughed up in turn. Today, Yehiya is severely traumatised. The story only came to light after one of West's soldiers began to protest against these practices, and the Pentagon launched an investigation. At a pre-trial hearing, West was fined $5,000, and now concedes grudgingly: "It's possible I was wrong about Mr Hamoodi." But he says he would do it again.

West has even taken to joking about it, gaining applause for telling Republican audiences: "It wasn't torture. Seeing Rosie O'Donnell naked would be torture". But the 1994 Convention Against Torture, to which the US is a signatory, is explicit: "Threat of imminent death" is the third form of torture it outlaws.

Yet the Republican Party has rallied to the defence of this torturer, and of torture in general. The Bush administration has ordered the simulated drowning of "high-value" suspects, and set up secret black ops sites across the world where it is practiced. After Afghan detainees were hanged from the ceiling and beaten to death, the officers responsible were merely given a "letter of reprimand".

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International new

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McCain will announce a series of offers valued for 52.500 million dollars with which to help the citizens affected by the turbulences of the markets, between which one finds a descent of taxes.

He will propose that the pensioners who enjoy plans of retirement and he will go pay a maximum charge of 10 per cent during next two years. Many of the American elders have seen his pension damaged in the last weeks by the financial crisis and his effects.

For his part, Barack Obama has presented an offer of four points to generate employment, to help the owners of housings and to protect the local and state governments of the effects of the economic crisis. Also he has proposed to extend to 50.000 million dollars the lendings to the manufacturers of cars. The application of these measures would need the use of 60.000 millions throughout two years.

Rick's story

Rick was born 7 August 1950 in Manchester, England. After passing his Eleven Plus Exam, Rick attended the La salle Grammar School in Weastle, Salford. He started his professional career in Oldham. He later graduated with a degree in English from Jesus College, Cambridge. After his graduation in 1971, Rick began as a trainee news reporter for ITN, before returning to Manchester in 1973, where he secured a post at Granada Television. He went on to Present Granada's culture, music and events programme, "So It Goes". In the 1970s and 1980s he was one of the main presenters on "Granada Reports", a regional evening news programme. Rick was married with Lindsay Smith and they lived in very big house with sheeps.