American Torture and American Terrorism

Abstract This book confronts the myth that America is a nation opposed to torture and terrorism. By developing victim-centered definitions of torture and terrorism, this book reveals how torture and terrorism have been embedded within American institutions since the country’s founding. From the earliest days of colonization to today’s prison conditions, rates of police violence, and drone warfare, torture and terrorism have been used against those who are viewed as dangerous to white political and social domination, who are predominantly people of color. This book argues that naming the violence suffered by the victims of American torture and American terrorism is the first step in redressing centuries of injustice and confronting the political and social narratives that have enabled this violence to continue.