The photographs from Abu Ghraib triggered a debate on torture in the United States that has provided a significant amount of visibility. What has been noticeably absent, however, is a thorough historical contextualisation of US torture following September 11, 2001. This volume analyses the debates on torture which arose during the Vietnam War and the Philippine-American War, and shows that the current controversy did not arise out of a political vacuum but, instead, reflects and draws upon pre-existing discursive contexts and practices.