Saving Babylon: The Heart of an Army Interrogator in Iraq

Saving Babylon: The Heart of an Army Interrogator in Iraq
Paul Holton
Perihelion Press
ISBN: 1-933434-00-1
Non-Fiction, Current Affairs, Biography
Reviewed by Lee Gooden

The average American person’s feelings about the current “War on Terror” and “Operation Iraqi Freedom” is mostly negative. Casualties of American and coalition forces are at an all time high and it is estimated by the British medical journal Lancet that over “100,000 civilians have been killed”. It is difficult for the American citizen whom is overloaded by negative propaganda and press about the war to understand the mentality of and sense of honor of an American soldier in Iraq.
When one begins to read the memoirs of an Operation Iraqi Freedom soldier, especially the memoirs of an Army interrogator, one immediately thinks of the atrocities at Abu Ghraib and the current rape and murder of a fourteen year old Iraqi girl by American soldiers. Already one is inimitably skeptical and has certain opinions before the very first sentence. Saving Babylon: The Heart of an Army Interrogator in Iraq by Paul Holton tries to change those doubts and opinions. Holton truly believes Iraqi freedom can be accomplished to the common good of everyone. He writes, “There is a price for freedom, known all too well by the men and women on the front lines who are willing to pay for it. Death is expected as part of this struggle. Lives have been lost here, but very few in comparison to other military actions around the world.” In response to what he considers a biased and off kilter media he writes, “Much of the Coalitions accomplishments was going largely unnoticed by the media. Schools and hospitals had been opened, playgrounds and housing projects had been started, and many jobs had been created. Where was all the talk about the thousands of good things that had been done? Why were the media not getting out the word that many great and positive things were occurring everyday? This remained a constant irritation.”
In Saving Babylon, Holton claims that as an Army interrogator he takes great lengths to maintain the dignity of the Iraqi POWs. He specifically mentions the relationship he established with certain Generals belonging to Saddam’s army and how the information he acquired played a vital part in the war effort. Regardless of media reporting, Holton says that torture is not a part of an Army Interrogator’s tools. Holton writes, “In our interrogations, I never witnessed any physical abuse of the prisoners. We never used torture as a means to acquire information, unless you consider taking away a prisoner’s cruel and unusual-All our techniques involve psychological methods of extracting information, viewing torture as an inefficient method to break people-Gaining the prisoners trust and respect is by far a more effective method for gathering information.”

Two paragraphs later, Holton makes the following ambiguous almost contradictory statement. He writes, “There were exceptions and isolated incidents, but those were few and far between. If there was any mistreatment, it was rare and not representative of thousands of prisoners who received the best possible treatment.”
Holton is also known as “Chief Wiggles”, because during his tour of duty he founded an altruistic and humanitarian organization called, Operation Give. Through Operation Give, needy Iraqi children have received giant containers of toys, school supplies and medical assistance. President Bush acknowledged Holton’s actions in his speech at the 52nd Annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington D.C. on February 5 2004. President Bush said, “A Guardsman from Utah named Paul Holton has described seeing an Iraqi girl crying and decided then and there to help that child and others like her. By enlisting aid through the Internet, Chief Warrant Officer Holton had arranged the shipment of more than 1,600 aid packages from overseas”. Because of President Bush’s speech Operation Give grew. Holton writes, “What began as a simple gesture, sharing a toy with a child in Iraq, has grown to touch the lives of millions”. The President’s remarks and other reports fueled a groundswell of public support for Operation Give. This outpouring of donations has enabled Operation Give to grow and expand its work, not only to the victims of Iraq, but to others facing critical needs such as the victims of the December 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia. The need is great. The work goes on. And the generosity of the American people is boundless.
Paul Holton appears to be an honest and honorable man, a soldier and human being that deserves and returns respect. His beliefs are not in question. They shouldn’t be because he is a citizen of a free country that is built on differences of opinion. If he believes that Iraqi Freedom is guided by the hand of God, who are we to question this? Saving Babylon gives us a perspective rarely seen. Perhaps we American civilians are disturbed and so disconcerted because men like Paul Holton make us question our values and recognize our shortcomings.