Ian Fishback
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Ian Fishback (January 19, 1979 – November 19, 2021) was a former United States Army officer, who became known after he sent a letter to Senator John McCain of Arizona on September 16, 2005, in which Fishback stated his concerns about the continued abuse of prisoners held under the auspices of the Global War on Terror.
McCain, along with Republican Senators John Warner and Lindsey Graham, afterward wrote an amendment to a Senate bill which would make illegal previous Bush administration claims for the use of extreme methods of abuse.
Fishback earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Middle Eastern Studies from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 2001, Masters of Arts degrees in Political Science and Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 2012, and a Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Michigan in 2021.
Fishback died in Bangor, Michigan on November 19, 2021.[1]
Biography
Fishback was born in Detroit on January 19, 1979.[1] He was a 1997 graduate of Newberry High School in Newberry, Michigan.[2]
He was admitted to West Point and achieved the rank of Major in the United States Army Special Forces.[3]
He served four combat tours in the US Army, one in Afghanistan and three in Iraq.{{ safesubst:#invoke:Unsubst||date=__DATE__ |$B=[when?] }}
In May 2012, Fishback received an M.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan, writing a master thesis on just war theory.[4]
From 2012 to 2015, he served as an instructor at West Point.[4][1]
He was a Ph.D. student in Philosophy at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor researching the interplay of morality and law in regards to proportionality and necessity.[5] Fishback submitted his Ph.D. dissertation titled Method and the Morality of War (adviser Elizabeth S. Anderson) in 2021.[6]
Letter to McCain
In 2005, Fishback expressed concern about what he perceived as a military culture that was permissive toward the abuse of prisoners.[7][8][9][10]
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The letter resulted to the creation of an anti-torture legislation, the Detainee Treatment Act, "sponsored by Senator McCain and passed by the Senate in an overwhelming show of bipartisan support with a vote of 90-9."[12]
Recognition
During debates over his amendment, Senator McCain said:
I thank God every day that we have men and women the caliber of Captain Fishback serving in our military. I believe the Congress has a responsibility to answer this call.[13]
On May 8, 2006, Fishback was chosen by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world for taking the stand against torture.[14]
Matthew Harwood, an associate editor at Security Management magazine, wrote in Attitudes aren't free: Thinking deeply about diversity in the US Armed Forces (2010) that Fishback's letter to Senator McCain "is a testament that inside the US military lies redemption".[15]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Sam Roberts (November 23, 2021). "Maj. Ian Fishback, who exposed abuse of detainees, dies at 42". The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/us/ian-fishback-dead.html.
- ↑ Carol Stiffler. "A modern hero says goodbye: Ian Fishback is leaving the country", The Newberry News, January 29, 2020.
- ↑ Statement for the Record of Ian Fishback, Former Major, Us Army Before the Senate Judiciary Committee January 10, 2017
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Ian Fishback | U-M LSA Philosophy" (in en). https://lsa.umich.edu/philosophy/people/graduate-students/ian-fishback.html.
- ↑ Ian Fishback — Graduate Student, University of Michigan
- ↑ Method and the Morality of War by Ian Fishback, University of Michigan, 2021 ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9652-8998
- ↑ Leadership Failure: Firsthand Accounts of Torture of Iraqi Detainees by the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, Human Rights Watch, September 2005, Vol. 17, No. 3(G)
- ↑ Eric Schmitt. 3 in 82nd Airborne Say Beating Iraqi Prisoners Was Routine, The New York Times, September 24, 2005
- ↑ John H. Richardson. Acts of Conscience, Esquire, September 21, 2009.
- ↑ "Officer's Road Led Him Outside Army" (in en-US). 2005-09-25. https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2005-sep-25-fg-abuse25-story.html.
- ↑ A Matter of Honor, The Washington Post, Wednesday, September 28, 2005.
- ↑ "Soldier Who Wrote of Detainee Abuse Submits Statement on Senator Sessions" (in en). https://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/soldier-who-wrote-detainee-abuse-submits-statement-senator-sessions.
- ↑ Congressional Record: October 5, 2005 (Senate), Page S11061-S11120
- ↑ Coleen Rowley. "Heroes and Pioneers: Ian Fishback", TIME, May 8, 2006
- ↑ Harwood, Matthew (2012). "Enjoining an American Nightmare". In Parco, James E.; Levy, David A.. Attitudes aren't free: Thinking deeply about diversity in the US Armed Forces. Enso. ISBN ((978-0982018569)). https://www.airuniversity.af.edu/Portals/10/ASPJ_Spanish/Journals/Volume-29_Issue-3/2017_3_06_harwood_s_eng.pdf.
External links
- Letter to McCain - Washington Post full reprint
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- United States Army officers
- United States Military Academy alumni
- United States Army personnel of the Iraq War
- American whistleblowers
- University of Michigan alumni
- United States Army personnel of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
- 1979 births
- 2021 deaths