Copper Green
Encyclopedia
Copper Green is reported by American
investigative journalist Seymour Hersh
to be one of several code name
s for a U.S.
black ops program, according to an article in the May 24, 2004 issue of The New Yorker
. According to Hersh, the task force was formed with the direct approval of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
, and run by Deputy Undersecretary Stephen Cambone
. Hersh claims the special access program
members were told "Grab whom you must. Do what you want". The program allegedly designed physical coercion and sexual humiliation techniques for use against Muslim
Arab
men specifically, to retrieve information from suspects, and to blackmail them into becoming informants.
According to the article, the sexual humiliation techniques were based on the book, The Arab Mind
, written by the late cultural anthropologist
Raphael Patai
in 1973. The book claimed to be a "study of Arab culture and psychology". According to Hersh's anonymous intelligence source, the Patai book was "the bible of the neocons on Arab behavior", which gave life to two themes: "One, that Arabs only understand force and, two, that the biggest weakness of Arabs is shame and humiliation".
Hersh claims to have spoken to a senior CIA official who said the program was designed by Rumsfeld to wrest control of information from the CIA, and place it in the hands of the Pentagon
. According to Hersh's sources, the program was so successful in Afghanistan
, that Cambone decided to introduce the SAP program to operations during 2003 invasion of Iraq
, eventually leading to the use of common soldiers instead of using special ops forces exclusively. In Hersh's view, the program was used on detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison
, leading directly to the prisoner abuse by US soldiers there.
Department of Defense
spokesperson Lawrence DiRita immediately issued a statement about the accusations, referring to them as "outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with error and anonymous conjecture". Press accounts have generally characterized DiRita's statement as a "denial", although it is clearly not a blanket denial of Hersh's allegations or even a denial that they are substantially correct. Senators on Capitol Hill, most notably the former POW John McCain
, promised to investigate the reported claims, "regardless of where it leads".
Copper Green was mentioned in Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer's memoir, Operation Dark Heart
on page 257: "The interrogation program, called Copper Green, was authorized, but a lot of us felt it wasn't appropriate and just wasn't right." The Pentagon blacked out the words "Copper Green" in the second printing.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
investigative journalist Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Myron Hersh is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist and author based in Washington, D.C. He is a regular contributor to The New Yorker magazine on military and security matters...
to be one of several code name
Code name
A code name or cryptonym is a word or name used clandestinely to refer to another name or word. Code names are often used for military purposes, or in espionage...
s for a U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
black ops program, according to an article in the May 24, 2004 issue of The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
. According to Hersh, the task force was formed with the direct approval of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Rumsfeld
Donald Henry Rumsfeld is an American politician and businessman. Rumsfeld served as the 13th Secretary of Defense from 1975 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford, and as the 21st Secretary of Defense from 2001 to 2006 under President George W. Bush. He is both the youngest and the oldest person to...
during the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
War in Afghanistan (2001–present)
The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
, and run by Deputy Undersecretary Stephen Cambone
Stephen Cambone
Stephen A. Cambone was the first United States Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, a post created in March 2003. Cambone first came to the attention of the public at large during the testimony of Major General Antonio Taguba before the U.S...
. Hersh claims the special access program
Special access program
Special access programs in the Federal Government of the United States of America are security protocols that provides highly classified information with safeguards and access restrictions that exceed those for regular classified information...
members were told "Grab whom you must. Do what you want". The program allegedly designed physical coercion and sexual humiliation techniques for use against Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Arab
Arab
Arab people, also known as Arabs , are a panethnicity primarily living in the Arab world, which is located in Western Asia and North Africa. They are identified as such on one or more of genealogical, linguistic, or cultural grounds, with tribal affiliations, and intra-tribal relationships playing...
men specifically, to retrieve information from suspects, and to blackmail them into becoming informants.
According to the article, the sexual humiliation techniques were based on the book, The Arab Mind
The Arab Mind
The Arab Mind is a non-fiction cultural psychology book by cultural anthropologist Raphael Patai, who also wrote The Jewish Mind. The book advocates a tribal-group-survival explanation for the driving factors behind Arab culture....
, written by the late cultural anthropologist
Cultural anthropology
Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans, collecting data about the impact of global economic and political processes on local cultural realities. Anthropologists use a variety of methods, including participant observation,...
Raphael Patai
Raphael Patai
Raphael Patai , born Ervin György Patai, was a Hungarian-Jewish ethnographer, historian, Orientalist and anthropologist.-Family background:...
in 1973. The book claimed to be a "study of Arab culture and psychology". According to Hersh's anonymous intelligence source, the Patai book was "the bible of the neocons on Arab behavior", which gave life to two themes: "One, that Arabs only understand force and, two, that the biggest weakness of Arabs is shame and humiliation".
Hersh claims to have spoken to a senior CIA official who said the program was designed by Rumsfeld to wrest control of information from the CIA, and place it in the hands of the Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
. According to Hersh's sources, the program was so successful in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, that Cambone decided to introduce the SAP program to operations during 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
, eventually leading to the use of common soldiers instead of using special ops forces exclusively. In Hersh's view, the program was used on detainees at the Abu Ghraib prison
Abu Ghraib prison
The Baghdad Central Prison, formerly known as Abu Ghraib prison is in Abu Ghraib, an Iraqi city 32 km west of Baghdad. It was built by British contractors in the 1950s....
, leading directly to the prisoner abuse by US soldiers there.
Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
spokesperson Lawrence DiRita immediately issued a statement about the accusations, referring to them as "outlandish, conspiratorial, and filled with error and anonymous conjecture". Press accounts have generally characterized DiRita's statement as a "denial", although it is clearly not a blanket denial of Hersh's allegations or even a denial that they are substantially correct. Senators on Capitol Hill, most notably the former POW John McCain
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III is the senior United States Senator from Arizona. He was the Republican nominee for president in the 2008 United States election....
, promised to investigate the reported claims, "regardless of where it leads".
Copper Green was mentioned in Lt. Col. Anthony Shaffer's memoir, Operation Dark Heart
Operation Dark Heart
Operation Dark Heart is a 2010 memoir by U.S. Army intelligence officer Lt. Col Anthony Shaffer notable for the lengths the U.S. Defense Department went in an attempt to censor information revealed within, after the book had already been distributed free of redactions.The book details Shaffer's...
on page 257: "The interrogation program, called Copper Green, was authorized, but a lot of us felt it wasn't appropriate and just wasn't right." The Pentagon blacked out the words "Copper Green" in the second printing.
External links
- Seymour Hersh, New Yorker, 24 May 2004, "The Gray Zone", published online May 15
- Department of Defense press release (in response to Hersh article)
- "Pentagon denies the existence of Copper Green"