Our Nation Unhinged: The Human Consequences of the War on Terror

Jose Padilla short-shackled and wearing blackened goggles and earmuffs to block out all light and sound on his way to the dentist. Fifteen-year-old Omar Khadr crying out to an American soldier: Kill me. Hunger strikers at Guantanamo being restrained and force-fed through tubes up their nostrils. John Walker Lindh lying naked and blindfolded in a metal container, bound by his hands and feet in the freezing Afghan winter night. This the story of the Bush administration's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001-and of how we have been led down a path of executive abuses, human tragedies, sensory deprivation, abandonment of the constitution, and the erosion of due process and liberty. In this vitally important book, Peter Jan Honigsberg chronicles the black hole of the American judicial system from 2001 to the present. In particular, he examines the development and ill use of the enemy combatant category as a lens through which to examine the War on Terror, the treatment of detainees without legal process, and the responses by courageous habeas lawyers. The result is an incisive analysis of what exactly we have lost over the past seven years and of where we are now headed.

Our Nation Unhinged includes:

* Original documents, letters, and interviews

* Peter Jan Honigsberg's account of his own visit to Guantanamo

* Case studies of detainees

* Photographs

"Law professor Honigsberg, who documented his 1960s civil-rights work in the memoir Crossing Border Street, brings his considerable knowledge and steadfast values to document the U.S. government's abuses of domestic and international law in the name of combating terrorism. His unflinching descriptions of detainee treatment make difficult reading: prisoners are kept in isolation for years and subject to sensory deprivation (Brooklyn native Jose Padilla was held in complete isolation for 21 months), confined to 'dog boxes' designed to prevent standing and induce 'learned helplessness,' plied with 'truth serum' (which may have been LSD or PCP), and much worse. Honigsberg does not deny that prisoners may well be 'extremely bad guys,' but contends that, regardless, 'civilized society declines in direct relation to the ascendancy of torture.' Honigsberg charges the Bush administration with 'abandoning... our core values of due process and justice,' but even if one does not agree, Honigsberg insists, 'we should all know what responses our nation chose' to 9/11. Inspired by a 2007 visit to Guantanimo, Honigsberg has penned a powerful indictment Bush's War on Terror, vivid and horrifying and hard to put down." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.)

"Peter Jan Honigsberg has written a magnificent book telling the story of what has occurred since September 11, 2001, and how the Bush administration has betrayed the most basic principles of constitutional law and international human rights protections. He tells the story of Guantanamo in moving, human terms, and he also shows how it relates to the other abuses that have occurred over the last seven years."--Erwin Chemerinsky, from the foreword

"In weaving compelling human stories and a meticulously researched chronology of violations of the rule of law and human rights since 9/11, Honigsberg has written a moving and powerful narrative of how we lost our constitutional and moral compass."--Sister Helen Prejean, author of Dead Man Walking

"National security is the last refuge of tyrants, and Peter Jan Honigsberg documents the full frontal assault on civil liberties in the United States perpetrated in the name of national security by Bush, Cheney and their partners in crime. Unlawful detention, imprisonment without trial for years on end, and outsourcing torture, are among the litany of horrors committed against the innocent. This book should be mandatory reading for all registered voters."--Kerry Kennedy, Founder of The Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights

Jose Padilla short-shackled and wearing blackened goggles and earmuffs to block out all light and sound on his way to the dentist. Fifteen-year-old Omar Khadr crying out to an American soldier, "Kill me!" Hunger strikers at Guantánamo being restrained and force-fed through tubes up their nostrils. John Walker Lindh lying naked and blindfolded in a metal container, bound by his hands and feet, in the freezing Afghan winter night. This is the story of the Bush administration's response to the attacks of September 11, 2001--and of how we have been led down a path of executive abuses, human tragedies, abandonment of the Constitution, and the erosion of due process and liberty. In this vitally important book, Peter Jan Honigsberg chronicles the black hole of the American judicial system from 2001 to the present, providing an incisive analysis of exactly what we have lost over the past seven years and where we are now headed.

Peter Jan Honigsberg is Professor of Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law. He visited Guantánamo in May 2007. He is author of Crossing Border Street: A Civil Rights Memoir (UC Press), among other books.