The Battle of Algiers exposed torture as a lasting poison for France

Evidence

The death of Ben M’hidi left, alive and at liberty, only Belkacem Krim out of the original neuf historiques of the F.L.N. Like an unsightly molehill, it also threw up the whole ugly but hitherto largely subterranean issue of the maltreatment of rebel suspects, of torture and summary executions; or what, in another context and depending upon the point of view, might perhaps be termed “war crimes”, and what in France came simply to be known as la torture. From the Battle of Algiers onwards this was to become a growing canker for France, leaving behind a poison that would linger in the French system long after the war itself had ended. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 580

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Torture’s contested truth made it a lasting canker for France; French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers; Torture destroyed the Muslim third force and turned French opinion against the war (+17 more)

Related

• Torture in Algeria left a lingering poison in the French system (similarity 0.97)
• Torture’s contested truth made it a lasting canker for France (similarity 0.96)
• Torture boomeranged against France in the Algerian war (similarity 0.94)
• Torture won the Battle of Algiers but lost the war for France (similarity 0.93)
• Torture was the chief factor in France’s defeat. (similarity 0.90)
• Torture more than any single factor caused France’s Algerian defeat (similarity 0.90)
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.89)
• Perpetrators of torture carried its moral damage home to France in person (similarity 0.89)
• Torture was effective in winning the short-term battle of Algiers (similarity 0.88)
• French governors repeatedly ordered torture prohibited before the Battle of Algiers (similarity 0.88)
• The Battle of Algiers marked the end of any possibility of negotiated settlement (similarity 0.88)
• Torture in Algeria threatened France with state self-destruction (similarity 0.87)
• Torture proved a boomerang weapon that undermined the power using it (similarity 0.87)
• Torture destroyed the Muslim third force and turned French opinion against the war (similarity 0.87)
• Torture backfired as a boomerang weapon in the Algerian war. (similarity 0.87)

Broader Connections

• Torture in Algeria threatened France with state self-destruction #expands (0.70) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 734
• Torture backfired as a boomerang weapon in the Algerian war. #corroborates (0.65) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1659
• Torture became institutionalized in the French army during the Battle of Algiers #expands (0.60) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 592
• Torture more than any single factor caused France’s Algerian defeat #expands (0.50) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 51
• The Battle of Algiers marked the end of any possibility of negotiated settlement #complicates (0.40) — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 679