Philip Tankovich - Entry n. 7 (Khalil)

     The evolution of colonialism has reached a very different form than that which it had in the 19th and 20th century. Long gone are the days of openly proclaiming a country as a subject of say, for example, the United Kingdom. India no longer is under the whims of Britain, and the days of Conrad's Heart of Darkness are as faded from memory as the Belgium Monarchy which had induced it.

Ultimately, colonialism has changed drastically - it has morphed into something one could call "guerilla colonialism." No longer blatant in their colonialization, colonial powers (namely the UK and US) have instituted proxy prisons and black prisons in mostly Third World countires as the minions of their domination. With these, they are able to do two major things: to extend the reach of their power, and from there, escape their own human rights laws by "adopting" the laws of the host country ( or merely forgetting their own). This allows the sovereign power to function outside of its normal bounds and act as not only an international actor - but as a powerfuly intranational actor. The synthesis of different countries operating in "assymetric" power relations with the US ultimately grants the US the ability to transcend its national position and gather multiple nations under its 'belt'.

    The implications of these proxy prisons and black sites are as numerous as they are repulsive. Among those subjected to torture are women who are violently unvieled and raped in prison, due to their own proxy to a 'terrorist', and alcohol is force fed to pious muslim men as one of the 'kinder' tortures. Gul Rhaman, prisoner at a proxy prison operated by the CIA, froze to death during his internment. The inhumane treatment of Rhaman was reflectred by the promotion of the CIA officer responsible, lending a perspective of the dehumanization that colonialism has always had - and still has today although it is much more covert and secret. The problem with the proxy prisons is such that they provide the intranational sovereign ruler to train local militias and furthermore, operate them from far away. With the handsome price that the US pays, this can easily be called 'purchased loyalty.' Not only does this purchased loyalty provide the US with colonial powers, it provides the US with the ability to transcend ambiguous judicial laws and international human rights under the notion of secrecy.

A citation from the text that clearly stands out and captures the essence of this Colonial evolution is stated by a US government official:

"We dont kick the shit out of them. We send them to other countries where they kick the shit out of them."

 Fueled by terror and torture, the proxy prisons of 'sovereign states' reveal the heart of darkness that is much less visible today than it was before. "Where allie's prison and detention centers served as holding cells for US detainees, proxies provided the mechanisms of concealment and denial." Ultimately, this is a portrait of modern colonialism.