Truly tortured over Terri Schiavo

Turns out that one protester battling the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube was a former military intelligence officer who served in Iraq -- and who defended torture at Abu Ghraib.

Published April 4, 2005 10:00PM (EDT)

Worldwide coverage of the Pope's death, though already a saturation itself of eye-popping proportions, helped bring a merciful end to the Terri Schiavo media marathon. Nonetheless, we thought this was one remnant worth noting: Turns out that one steadfast protester camped out in Florida last week to fight the removal of Schiavo's feeding tube was a former military intelligence officer who served in Iraq -- and who defended the use of brutal interrogation at Abu Ghraib prison. Perhaps disillusioned right-winger Neal Boortz was more on target than he realized when he concluded that hard-line Republicans, in their cynical attempt to exploit her for the antiabortion movement, were "torturing the soul" of Terri Schiavo.


By Mark Follman

Mark Follman is Salon's deputy news editor. Read his other articles here.

MORE FROM Mark Follman


Related Topics ------------------------------------------

Abu Ghraib Iraq Middle East War Room