ALLAHS FOOL A One-Act Play*Posted onMarch 3, 2011bysdonlineBy Pat McGeeverSetting:BaghdadTime:Present, with flashbacksA minimal set may be used. At least two sections of the stage can be illuminated separately. A back wall or screen will be used for projecting words and images.CharactersSHANDRA RAMADI late fifties, Iraqi, passionate and excitable, wears traditional dress and headdressDR. ALI RAMADI SHINAN Shandras husband, about sixty, Iraqi, dignified, reserved, wears professional Western dress and glasses with very thick lensesBEN DAGLEISH[pron: DOG-leash] about forty, American, smart-mouthed, likeable, can-do kind of guy, dresses in office-casualCARL[O.S. throughout]*DR. AMY FRIEDMAN about 40, a military doctor, intense, dedicated, complex, wears hospital scrubsDR. JUDY LEVINE about 30, also a military doctor, with a novices enthusiasm, usually wears hospital scrubsBBC REPORTER*NAVAL SEAL*U.S. MARINE SERGEANT**These characters can all be played by the same actor.PrologueLights up. The actors stand downstage in a single row facing the audience. They read the following quotations and authors names.BENIm not going to address the torture word.-Donald RumsfeldJUDYThe photographs are us.Susan SontagREPORTER, etc.This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation. And were going to ruin peoples lives over it? And were going to hamper our military effort? And then we are going to really hammer them because they had a good time?Rush LimbaughALI[Torture is] any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.1984 Convention Against Torture, signed by the United StatesAMYThese prisoners, you know theyre not there for traffic violations. If theyre in cellblock 1-A or 1-B, these prisoners, theyre murderers, theyre terrorists, theyre insurgents. Many of them probably have American blood on their hands, and here were so concerned about the treatment of those individuals.Sen. James Inhofe, Senate Armed Services CommitteeSHANDRAThis is tortures true purpose: to terrorizenot only the people in Guantnamos cages and Syrias isolation cells but also, and more important, the broader community that hears about these abuses. Torture is a machine designed to break the will to resistthe individual prisoners will and the collective will.-Naomi KleinScene 1Four chairs in a neat row face the audience. SHANDRA stands behind them.SHANDRAI was a mere slip of a girl when first I met Ali Ramadi Shinan. He was not yet Doctor Ramadi, but a student at a university far away. My father, may Allah have mercy on his soul, was not about to commit his only daughter to a pre-arranged marriage. He knew me better than that! So Ali had to come to our house and meet me, face to face. But of course an unsupervised encounter was utterly unthinkable.From behind the second chair from Stage Left, SHANDRA takes a life-sized picture, from head to waist, of a dour-looking man in traditional Arab dress. She places it on the chair, facing front. She sits in the chair to Stage Left.SHANDRA (CONT.)My father was his usual dignified and impassive self. But I could barely contain my excitement as we waited for my prince. I couldnt wait to feast my eyes on his noble countenance and bearing!ALI enters Stage Right. He wears Western dress and thick glasses. He takes another picture of a dour-looking man in traditional Arab dress from behind the second chair from Stage Right and places it in the chair, facing front. He sits in the chair to Stage Right.SHANDRA (CONT.)Some prince! Shy, dressed like a foreigner, and glasses thicker than my thumb.A silence ensues. ALI coughs, blows his nose.SHANDRA (CONT.)And with the sniffles!ALI[Clearing his throat, addressing SHANDRAs father:] Allahs peace be upon this house. I am Ali Ramadi Shinan. May I introduce my father, Abdullah Ramadi Aziz. It was most gracious of you, sir, to invite us to your home.SHANDRA[Leaning forward:] Do you have a cold?[ALI, confused, glances at her father and then his own (neither of whom responds), then at SHANDRA:]ALIAh, er, um Did you speak?SHANDRAYes, I spoke. I asked if you have a cold.ALISir, may I have permission to speak directly to your daughter?SHANDRA[In a deep voice:] Permission granted!ALIOh. Um, yes. Yes, I suppose I do. Usually. That is to say, with the cold and rainy climate at Cambridge, I often have a little catarrh in my throatSHANDRASo its chronic. What do they give you for it?ALIThey? [Beat.] Well, you see, we study every imaginable illness, but, as far as Well, one wouldnt go to the infirmary for a trifle like this.SHANDRAYou live alone?ALIAlone. Yes.SHANDRAAmong infidels. With no one to give you honey and lemon. I will make you some, before you go.ALIYou are most generous. Generous and somewhatforward.SHANDRADo you find that objectionable?ALIQuite the contrary. I like to see the inner strength of a woman shining forth. But among Arab women it is not often apparent.SHANDRAPerhaps because among Arab men it is not often welcome.ALITouch.SHANDRAIn your cold, wet university, do you have a specialization?ALIIndeed I do. It is the human eye, one of the great marvels of all Allahs creation. Do you realize that when a baby is first conceived within a woman, the cells that will eventually make up the eyes are undifferentiated from other cells around them? But as the baby grows, they organize themselves to make two tiny cameras. They can take in light from the world around them, and shape it to focus on objects nearby, like a mothers face, or far away, like the stars of the heavens.SHANDRASo the babys eyes are twin miracles, to take in the other miracles of creation.ALIYes! Exactly. Of course, not all eyes are equally powerful. My own, for example, are terribly near-sighted. They could not quite focus the light from the stars, or even from your face, which at the moment is quite distant. Today, medical science is able to remedy such problems by placing additional lenses in front of theWhile ALI speaks, SHANDRA rises and walks toward him. ALI rises, his voice trailing off. SHANDRA stands quite close to ALI.SHANDRAThere. Can you see my face better now?A long pause.ALIMuch better, dear lady. But there is a problem.SHANDRAWhich is?ALIMy glasses are beginning to fog up!SHANDRAI must confess you are not quite what I expected.ALIYou were expecting, perhaps, a prince?SHANDRA[Nods.] Silly of me. I am not a princess.ALINow there I must disagree. From this day forward, you will always be my princess.ALI freezes in place. SHANDRA turns and walks downstage.SHANDRAI fear we upset our elders that day. But within the year we were man and wife. Ali was always a frail man, but a strong and courageous one. He rose within his profession of optometry to a prominent position in our nation. He even became an undersecretary in the Ministry of Health. We raised a large family and prospered in Allahs grace. But that seems like another world now, before Saddam Hussein and long before the Americans.Lights down.Scene 2BENHi. Im Ben, Ben Dagleish, civilian volunteer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. They recruited me to organize the cleanup at Ground Zero. When we wrapped up there, I was ready to head to the tropics to soak up some rays. Stupid me, I gave the guys in Washington my cell number.His cell phone rings.BEN (CONT.)Ben Dagleish here.VOICE (O.S.)Yo, Ben, its me.BENHey, Carl, hows it hangin?VOICENot bad. Look, the President wants me to tell you how delighted he was with your work at Ground Zero.BENReally? The President himself?VOICEAbsolutely. The way you pulled all those volunteers and contractors together to shape the place up so quickly was nothing short of amazing.BENThe spirit there was terrific. Everybody pitched in.VOICEYeah, but everybody pitching in can be a prescription for disaster. Youre the one who made it all happen, and everybody knows it. [Pause.] Which brings me to the purpose of my call. The President needs you in Baghdad.BENBaghdad? You gotta be shittin me! The troopsre still lightin the place up every night.VOICEBut the minute the shootings over, were sending in top-echelon personnel to begin the reconstruction. Paul Bremer will head up the Coalition Provisional Authority, and hell have a dozen people under him with specific portfolios. We want you to be one of them.BENWhich portfolio?VOICEMinistry of Health. We want you to get the hospitals up and running again.BENHospitals my ass! Theyve all been looted and the docs are long gone.VOICEWere going to appoint you acting Minister of Health, as a civilian with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, just like at Ground Zero. Youll make the decisions, but the Armyll be there to back them up. Look, Ben, this is the perfect career move.BENCareer move? Into the number one hell-hole on Gods earth?VOICEUnderstand this. The President is a man who never forgets a friend.BENOr an enemy?VOICEYour words, not mine. Look, you pull this one off the way you did Ground Zero, and after we get reelected next year, youll be in line for an ambassadorship. [Pause.] Can we count you in, Ben?BENWell, I sure as hell dont want to piss off the President.VOICEGood boy.BENI just wonder where Im gonna find doctors in Baghdad.Lights down.Scene 3A doctors office at Abu Ghraib Prison, Baghdad. DR. AMY FRIEDMAN sits at the desk, writing. On the desk is a photo of the Manhattan skyline, including the Twin Towers. AMY wears army fatigues, and a gold necklace with a Star of David. DR. JUDY LEVINE enters.JUDYThank Godair conditioning!AMYYou Doctor Levine?JUDYJudy. Baghdads a freaking sauna.AMYIm Amy Friedman.JUDYOh yeah, my mentor. [Shakes hands.] Excuse my manners, Im not real civil when my shorts are sticking to my butt.AMYThats OK. The heat you can adjust to.JUDY looks around. She picks up the picture from FRIEDMANs desk.JUDYYou from New York? [FRIEDMAN nods.] Same here. Id forgotten what it looked like with the Twin Towers.AMY[With surprising vehemence.] Ill never forget!There is an awkward pause. JUDY gets close enough to AMY to see her necklace.JUDYHoly shit! You wear that all the time?AMYWhat?JUDYThe Star of David.AMYWhy shouldnt I?JUDYYoure dealing all day with Muslims. Id say its a shade inflammatory?AMYIm proud of who I am. If the hajis dont like it, thats their problem.JUDYIm also proud of being a Jew, but well, to each her own.AMYHowd you end up here, Judy?JUDYArmy Reserve helped put me through med school, and I took some Arabic in undergrad. How about yourself?AMYI volunteered. Of course I didnt realize what a hell-hole this was.JUDYThe heat IS badAMYbut the hajisll kill ya.JUDYUm, yeah. You know, this used to be a beautiful part of the world.AMYWhat?JUDYBabylon was near here, one of the wonders of the ancient world. Some scholars think the Garden of Eden was between the Tigris and Euphrates.AMYAnd just look what Saddams turned it into now.JUDYYeah. You know the Iraqi flag?AMYNot really.JUDYStripes of red, white and black. Red for sacrifice, white for purity. Black for the dark past.AMYWell, they got that part right. The presents pretty grim too.There is a long, loud scream. JUDY jumps.JUDYOh my god! What was that?AMYAn interrogation in progress next door.JUDYAre they torturing him?AMYWe dont use the torture word around here. That means the kind of pain resulting in organ failure or death. Thats not what our guys do.JUDYWhat do our guys do?AMYThey use professional interrogation techniques.JUDYAha. But that godawful screamAMYIf milder techniques dont work, they can go to C.I.D. [She pauses expectantly, then continues.] C.I.D. are cruel, inhuman or degrading treatments, that dont cause organ failure or death. Havent you read the manual yet? Its all spelled out.JUDYSomebody just handed it to me five minutes ago.AMYMake it a priority, doctor. This war is different from what you read in the textbooks. There are times youll listen to the hajis scream. You better find a way to deal with it. Otherwise you go nuts.Lights down.

Scene 4Baghdad, the Ministry of Health. BEN DAGLEISH, carrying a brief case, enters and stands alone.BENHello! Is this the Ministry of Health? Hello!A small group of people gathers.BEN (CONT.)Hi. Im Ben Dagleish, civilian volunteer with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Ive been sent by the Americans.Long pause. No response.BEN (CONT.)So, whos in charge?Some foot shuffling, but still no response. BEN folds his arms, lets the silence drag on.BEN (CONT.)OK, who speaks English? Whos the most senior person in the room?The group of people parts, leaving ALI in the middle. ALI steps forward.ALII am Doctor Ali Ramadi Shinan. I suppose I am the most senior.BEN extends his hand. They shake. BEN reaches into his brief case, takes out a document, and hands it to ALI.BENNice to meet you, Dr. Ramadi. Ive been appointed acting head of the Ministry of Health, by the President.ALIPresident Hussein?BEN[Flabbergasted:]Saddam Hussein? Whyno. I mean President BushALIOf course, Mr. Dagleish. I was merely having a little fun with you.BENHey, you had me going for a minute, Ali. May I call you Ali?ALIOf course. You Americans are so informal. Endearingly so.BENAnd Im Ben.They shake hands again, more warmly.ALIHow may I be of assistance, Ben?BENGet doctors and nurses back into the hospitals. Bombing mustve driven them out.ALIBefore that it was the presidential family. With them gone, I think I may be able to convince some people to return.BENTerrific! Presidential family? You mean Saddams?ALIOne time, Uday Hussein tried to commandeer the entire drug supply of Baghdad Hospital for a party he was having. It was left to me to turn him down, to his face.BENSounds dangerous.ALIDangerous enough. But I had the advantage of having seniority in the Party.BENWHAT? You were a member of the Baathist Party?ALII still am. It was a prerequisite to advancing in any profession.BENSweet Jesus. If I tell the brass Im doing business with a Baathist Look, would you be willing to renounce your membership?ALIThey would kill me.BENWell protect you.ALIYes, the omnipotent U.S. military. Which controls every square foot of the country.BENOK, OK. Ali, I need someone with some status. Someone willing to take a risk. OtherwiseALIOtherwise my people will continue to die without medical attention. Very well, Mr. Dagleish. I shall write a letter resigning my membership in the party.They shake hands, and embrace.Lights down.Scene 5ALIS home. Lights up on ALI and SHANDRA.SHANDRAYou did WHAT? My dear husband, have you taken leave of your senses?ALII had to, Princess. Otherwise I could not work with the Americans.SHANDRAThe Americans are the invaders! They are the occupiers! They are not our friends!ALIMr. Dagleish is my friend. He calls me Ali. I call him Ben. It is the way with the Americans.SHANDRAThe Americans are fools! And only Allah knows what a great fool you are.ALISurely He does. But Allah gives his special protection to fools. That is why I survived under Saddam, when so many others perished.SHANDRALike Walid. I know. I never stop thinking about him.ALIYour brother is with Allah now.SHANDRAHe was innocent! The Baathists killed him for no reason. Think what they will do to a traitor.ALIHe was indeed innocent, but proud. Too proud to humble himself before them in prison.SHANDRAWhat did you do when they put you in prison?ALII dont want to talk about that.SHANDRAYou never have, all these years. I am tired of being ignorant. Ignorant and afraid.ALI[Long pause.]Its all over, now that the Americans are here. It was merely a misunderstanding.SHANDRAA misunderstanding.ALIThere were rumors of a plot against Uday. Someone must have thought I was involved.SHANDRAWhat did they do to you at Abu Ghraib?ALIThey asked me questions.SHANDRAFor two weeks? Who can ask so many questions?ALIApparently you can. You are my hardest interrogator.SHANDRAI am your wife! I want to know.ALIPrincess, there are some things that must remain unsaid. I have learned that the price of survival is circumspection.SHANDRAYou havent survived, not yet. The Baathists are everywhere, and they are armed. As soon as they learn youve resigned from the party, they will come. Here. To our house.ALIThey have other fish to fry. Policemen. Soldiers. The Americans themselves.SHANDRAThey will kill you if you cooperate with the Americans.ALIIt ispossible.SHANDRAThen why in the name of Allah are you doing it?ALIBecause I want the Americans to succeed. Only they can bring peace to our land, and I believe this is what they want to do. But to succeed they must have help. We must get the hospitals open, or hundreds of our people will die every day. Needlessly.SHANDRASo, instead, you will die. Needlessly.[Pause.]Dont think theyll stop with you. They will kill me, the children, the grandchildren. Theyll take revenge on your cousins, on everyone connected to you. They know who we are, where we live.ALIPrincess, I must do what I am doing. But I promise you this. Whatever I can do to avoid antagonizing the Baathists, I will do. I must walk a tightrope between them and the Americans, but I will walk it very carefully.SHANDRA[Sighs.] I suppose there is no changing you.[Long pause.] This Mr. Dagleish, this Ben. You really think he can be trusted?ALIYes, I do. He is an honorable man. Nave about some things, perhaps, but honorable.Lights down.Scene 6Some weeks later.Abu Ghraib, doctors office.AMY and JUDY are catching up on paper work.JUDYWhats this? B.S.C.T.AMYThats Biscuit. Behavioral Science Consultation Team. Its usually headed up by one of our psychologists.JUDYOK, cool. They want info on my patients. What kind of info?AMYAnything thatll help them plan interrogations.JUDYPardon me?AMYTheir job is to consult with the interrogators.JUDYWith interrogators! Theyre going to tell interrogators whats in the file?AMYOf course. You can put in your own recommendations on how to proceed.JUDYAre you yanking my chain? The only recommendation Id make to those sadists is not to proceed at all.AMYTheyre not sadists. Theyre highly trained professionals.JUDYWell, Im not helping them.AMYDoctor, our advice can make things better for everyone. One detainee had a phobia about dogs. I told Biscuit to just let him see an attack dog on his way in. Thats all it took.JUDYTime out! Thats confidential patient information. Information you had as a doctor, a healer.AMYInformation is the most important commodity on todays battlefield. We have to use it to exploit the enemys weaknesses when we can.JUDYEven by torturing him?AMYWeve been over this before. Its not torture.JUDYWaterboarding is not torture? Sleep deprivation is not torture? Solitary confinement and nudity? Thats not what the Geneva Conventions say.AMYThe Geneva Conventions dont apply to these guys; theyre illegal combatants.JUDYIllegal combatants? Who says?AMYOur Commander-in-Chief.JUDYBush? George W. Bush decides who has rights and who doesnt?AMYOur procedures were approved at the White House.JUDYScrew the procedures. Screw the White House. I signed up to be a doctor.AMYBut youre also a soldier. With a duty to help your buddies survive. That means doing whatever it takes to get good intelligence out of detainees.JUDYIntelligence? When you hurt people you dont get intelligence. Torture a man long enough, hell say whatever he thinks you want to hear. The real purpose of torture is to break people. Break their spirit.AMYYou want to talk about torture? Under Saddam, they poured acid on peoples faces, they cut off hands and feet. Executions were scheduled every Wednesday. Right out there in the courtyard. Every Wednesday! Its us against them, Doctor, and youd better decide whose side youre on!Lights down.

Scene 7A press conference at the Ministry of Health.Lights up on a podium. ALI and BEN walk towards it. They are holding hands.BENLadies and gentlemen of the press, welcome to our first press conference since the Liberation. These are hard times, but here at the Ministry of Health we have been making progress toward a better tomorrow. Most of the hospitals in Baghdad are now open, and our staffing improves day by day. Much of the credit is due to my colleague and friend, Dr. Ali Ramadi Shinan. Dr. Ramadi will read a detailed statement, and then take your questions. Dr. Ramadi.ALI stands behind the podium, and pantomimes reading a press release. BEN stands off to one side, speaks to the audience.BEN (CONT.)Now dont get the wrong idea. About the hand-holding, I mean. In that part of the world, its accepted that men are more physical in showing friendship than in the States. And by then, Ali and I were certainly good friends.[Pause.]The press conference went very well: Ali handled himself superbly in Arabic and in English. But there was one question we all knew was coming. At the end, a reporter from the BBC stood up and asked it.REPORTERDr. Ramadi, is it true that you are a member of the Baath Party?ALINo, it is not. I have resigned my membership.REPORTERBut have you denounced the party? In public?ALII have not.REPORTERWell, this is your opportunity. Would you like to condemn the Baath Party right now?Silence.REPORTER (CONT.)Doctor Ramadi?ALINo, I would not.REPORTER[Incredulous:] You refuse to repudiate the party that has terrorized this country for a generation? How can you, as a doctor, justify ever being a Baathist?ALIThat is a very long story. But to make it short, I was simply doing my job.BEN throws up his hands in a gesture of despair. He puts an arm around ALIs shoulders as they walk away from the podium.ALI (CONT.)I am sorry if I failed you. But had I denounced the party, the revenge on my family would have been merciless.BENNo, no, I understand, Ali. I think even Paul Bremer will understand. What they wont understand is the line about just doing my job.ALIBut that is the truth! I was an optometrist and a deputy minister of health. I stayed away from the cruel side of the party.BENI believe you, Ali. But thats the same statement the Nazis made after World War II.ALIAh. I see. So to the Western world I sounded BENLike the guys that ran the death camps.ALITruly I have failed you. You who have been like a brother to me.BENWe are brothers, Ali.ALITomorrow I shall send you my letter of resignation.BENThe public spotlight can be very cruel; Im sorry I put you in it.ALIBen, I wonder if I could presume upon your kindness to ask one final favor.BENAnything, Ali.ALIOnce I have left office, I wonder if I could continue, as an optometrist.BENYou still want to grind glasses?ALII still want to feed my family.ALI exits.BENWhen he left, we both had tears in our eyes.[Beat.]Then Paul Bremer took over as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority. On May 16 he issued his de-Baathification order. All high-level Baathists like Ali were out, period. So were the lower-level ones, but some of them could appeal. Essentially Bremer fired the entire civil service. They also sent 400,000 soldiers homewith their guns, of course.Thats when the Insurgency got legs. Occupations are inherently stupid. Just how stupid, I didnt know until I got a visit from one of our own military doctors.JUDYAre you aware that prisoners at Abu Ghraib are being tortured?BENGood God, no.JUDYYeah, with help from the doctors.BENDoctors? American doctors?JUDYThey give confidential patient information to the interrogators. When prisoners get injured or killed, they make up phony reports. TheyBENLet me stop you before you go any further, Doctor. Abu Ghraib isnt in my jurisdiction.JUDYRight. And the people who do have jurisdiction dont care..BENWhat about the Red Cross?JUDYTheyve already written the place up, but their reports go straight in the trash. If the Red Cross goes public, they lose their access to the prisoners.BENWhat you need isJUDYWhat I need is, somebody with some status, whos willing to take a risk.BEN[Beat.]And you think thats me.JUDYI hope its you, because Im about out of options here. The word is you have connections in Washington. I need someone to take my research directly to the top.BENYour research?JUDYIve been digging through the files, making copies.BENCan I see it?JUDYCan I trust you not to reveal the source? Special Forces types are already monitoring my e-mailsBENOK.JUDYOK.JUDY reaches into her briefcase and pulls out a thick file. She hands it to BEN, who puts it on the desk. They begin to page through it. Behind them, images appear on the screen or wall, representing each case.JUDYThis detainees hand was oozing pus from being tortured; they refused to treat it. He was also bleeding from the ear, but the physician wouldnt treat it in the clinic.This guy had a torn rotator cuff in his shoulder, extremely painful. At the clinic they told him to keep the shoulder immobilized. But they also told the interrogator, and he decided to hang the guy up by the shoulder.This one had cuts and burns on his back from an interrogation. The medic refused to treat him, and told a GI with no training to sew him up.The family found this guy three months after hed been brought here. He was in a Baghdad hospital, comatose, three skull fractures, a severe thumb fracture, and burns on the bottom of his feet. The American medical report said his coma was caused by a heat stroke; no mention of the injuries.Heres a detainee who was beaten, tied to the top of his cell door, and gagged. He suffocated. The death certificate said hed died of natural causesduring his sleep.This was Iraqi Major General Mowhoush. Interrogators pushed his head into a sleeping bag and sat on his chest. He suffocated too. A surgeon stated he died of natural causes.1BENThis isnt America.JUDYNo.BENThis is truly awful. I really wish there were somethingJUDYBut you know people in Washington.BENI wouldnt know them for long, if I started sending stuff like this.JUDY[Beat.] Sorry to waste your time, Mr. Dagleish.JUDY picks up the folder and stands.BENWait. Leave it.JUDYYou sure?BENIll see what I can do.JUDYYoure not gonna just deep-six it?BENNo. This storys got to get out. Somehow.JUDY puts the folder back on the desk, shakes BENs hand, and exits.Immediately after her, a NAVAL SEAL enters.SEALGood morning, sir. Im looking for an Ali Ramadi Shinan. Our information says he works here.BENWhat do the SEALS want with Dr. Ramadi?SEALThats confidential.BENHe doesnt work here any more.SEALNo? Whats his home address?BENThats confidential.SEAL[Awkward pause.] Sir, I have orders to speak with Ramadi. Urgent orders.BEN[Resting a hand on JUDYs file:]Speak with him in the sense of an interrogation? Are your orders to arrest him, Lieutenant?SEALSir, Im not at libertyBENNo, Im sure youre not. Nor am I. Im not at liberty to give you confidential information.SEAL[Pause.]Then good day, sir.SEAL exits.BENSure enough, within a week, I get a ringy-dingy from the White House.BEN answers his cell phone.CARL[Furious:] Ben, what the hells this I hear about you interfering with a commando operation over there?BENThis Seal barged into my office demanding personal information on one of my most trusted associatesCARLFORMER associate, I think you mean. Ramadi was fired when it came out he was a Baathist, wasnt he?BENNo, he resigned. Hed already left the Baathist Party.CARLYou mean you didnt even have the guts to fire him? Jesus, Ben, Im beginning to think I was all wrong about you. You knew he was a high-level Baathist, with inside information about Saddam. Our guys need to talk to him, urgently.BENCarl, theyre wrong about Ramadi. He wasnt political, at all.CARLThats what they all say, now.BENHed never hurt anybody.CARLHe was a personal friend of Saddam Hussein. Ate dinner with his family more than once.BENLook, I know the man personally.CARLYeah. You raised some eyebrows back here, with your hand-holding.BENOh, come on! You know the culture over here!CARLI dont give a flying fuck if he was your little Baghdad bitch! We need to talk to him, and you know where he lives.[Beat.] If you dont give us the information, well get it elsewhere. Its your future thats at stake. I told you, you can write your own ticket if you pull this job off. But if the President starts thinking youre not really a team player wellBENCan I have some time to?CARLYouve had it, Ben! Right now or Im hanging up. Where does Ramadi live?BEN[Long pause.] OK. Its on Mohammed Street near the Sunni mosque. Theres an optometrists sign out in front.CARLWelcome back, Ben. Welcome back to the winning team.BEN hangs up.BENAfter I hung up, I tried to call Ali to give him a heads-up. But his phone had been disconnected.Scene 8SHANDRAAllahs fool. That was my husband. He trusted the American, who dismissed him when he became inconvenient. He practiced optometry for a while at our home, but after the de-Baathification order our telephone was disconnected and customers stopped coming. To eat, we had to beg from family and friends. And every night, we waited for the knock at the door. We thought the Insurgents would come for revenge. But as it turned outLoud knocking and searchlights. The NAVAL SEAL reads from a clipboard as SHANDRA and ALI wait in the darkness.SEALAli Ramadi! Ali Ramadi, come out! You have 10 seconds.[Beat.]Then we start shooting.ALI steps into the searchlight wearing pajamas, and speaks calmly.ALII am Doctor Ramadi. What do you want?SEALWe want you, Ramadi.ALIThere is no God but Allah. Leave my family alone, and I will come with you.SEALPut your hands out.ALIPlease. Our neighbors are watching. Can we dispense with the handcuffs?Incensed, the SEAL pushes ALI to the ground.SEALNo more lip from you, asshole.ALIWhy are you doing this to me?The SEAL kicks ALI.SHANDRAThey broke four of his ribs that night. Then they took him to a detention camp in Sadr City, not far from the hospital where he had worked. He was in horrible condition when I saw him. We believe he had a heart attack, perhaps more than one. But I was able to visit him every day, and bring him his favorite soups. Slowly, he began to recover. He told me they had questioned him about the Insurgency, but of course he knew nothing. He was certain they would release him soon. But one day I came and he was gone. Officially, no one knew where he was. But I had made friends with one Iraqi guard, and he told me Ali had been transferred. Where? I asked. His answer made my blood run cold.Light up on ALI and a Marine SERGEANTSERGEANTWelcome to Abu Ghraib, Ali Baba.ALIAbu Ghraib. I am in luck.SERGEANTIn luck? Right! The place they had you before was a five-star hotel. This is the real deal.ALIYou have medical facilities here. I must see a doctor.SERGEANTYou must, huh? Well, now you may have trouble seeing anything.SERGEANT removes ALIs glasses, drops them to the floor, and mashes them underfoot. Lights down.

Scene 9Abu Ghraib doctors office. JUDY LEVINE is sitting and writing. AMY FRIEDMAN enters.AMYWell, Im out of here at oh-five hundred hours tomorrow. Direct flight to Germany.JUDYCongratulations. Will you be getting some time with your family?AMYI dont have much family any more. I live alone and my parents died some time back.JUDYWell. Germany should be nice.AMYCompared to here, anywhere would be nice. [Beat.] Any questions before I go?JUDYNo, I think Im all set.AMYGood, then.JUDYYeah, good.A loud yelling Off StageSEALMedic! Medic needed, right away!SEAL enters, dragging ALI, who is unconscious. JUDY confronts the SEAL.JUDYWhat do you think youre doing?SEALOh no, not you. Wheres Dr. Friedman?JUDYGet used to it Lieutenant. She leaves tomorrow.AMY[Stepping forward into the SEALs view:] Whats happening?SEALAll right! Little Saddam here passed out on us. Need you to wake him up, so weJUDYLieutenant, Im on duty this evening. Ill examine himJUDY works on ALI. At length he begins to moan and sits up. She checks his vital signs and physical condition.SEALOK, good enough. Ill take it from here.JUDYIm sorry; this mans in no condition for further interrogation. Hell have to go to the clinic in the morning.SEALI say hes faking. We were just starting to get somewhere with him, when he hit the deck. We gotta push him, now.JUDYI said no, Lieutenant.SEALWhich one of you has rank?JUDYWere both captains.AMYI have more seniority, Lieutenant.SEALOK, Im asking you. I need to question this sand nigger tonight.JUDYThis is ridiculous. The man is old and frail and he has fresh contusions on his ribs.AMYDr. Levine, the officer has a job to finish. This mans life is obviously not in danger, so we have no business interfering. Proceed, Lieutenant.The SEAL half-pushes, half-drags ALI away.SEALThanks, Doc. At least I know whose side youre on.[Exits.]JUDYWhy in Gods name did you do that? Theyre torturing that old man.AMYThe Seals are on to you, Judy. They know youve been snooping around trying to get them in trouble.JUDYThanks. I can take care of myself.AMYYou think so? Seals can become very hostile when someone interferes with their mission.JUDYWell, my mission is to take care of my patients.AMYWere not dealing with patients here. Were dealing with animals. Very cunning animals. The kind who brought the towers down.JUDYNow you sound like a Nazi.AMYHow dare you!! The Nazis were murderers.JUDYOnly after they convinced themselves that Jews were animals. Very cunning animals. I dont understand you, Amy. At all.AMYWhy is it so hard to understand I hate this place? I hate everything about it! The heat. The sand. The ugliness. The people. Their vile religion. I hate that I came here at all.JUDYYou volunteered.AMY[Pause.]Yeah. To pay them back for September 11.JUDYYou know the Iraqis had nothing to do with 9-11.AMYI dont care! Theyre all the same. Theyre all terrorists.JUDYOh, come on, now. Youre an educated person. A doctor. A Jew.AMYA woman. And the only man Ive ever loved is dead just because he went to work the day these rag-heads decided to fly a plane into his building to make some stupid point about their shitty lives. So fuck them. Fuck every last one. I had to listen to my husband die, on voicemail. And someones gonna pay. You think I should care if somebody roughs up a prisoner or two? Please.JUDYOh my God, Amy. Oh my God. I didnt know.AMYI feel nothing for these people. Sometimes I hate them, but usually its just nothing.AMY exits.Lights down.

Scene 10SHANDRAThis time it was several months before I had any word of my husband. I began making the rounds of Baghdad hospitals and morgues, but always the answer was no. Finally I went to see the American and told him my story.BENMrs. Ramadi, this is terrible. I knew de-Baathification was going to be rough, but I had no idea something like this could happen. Not to Ali.SHANDRANo idea.BENOf course not.[Pause.]Tell you what. Let me make some calls and see what I can find. Ill get back to you.SHANDRAThank you, Mr. Dagleish.BENPlease. Call me Ben.SHANDRAI think not, Mr. Dagleish. I dont know you well enough, not yet. But my husband said you were a man of honor.BEN[Beat.] Im going to get to the bottom of this.BEN exits.SHANDRAWell, he investigated. He learned that my husband was no longer at Abu Ghraib. But they had no record of where he was. We feared he was dead. But after several more weeks, Mr. Dagleish called me again.BENI have news. On the positive side, Ali is alive.SHANDRAAllah be praised!BENBut his condition is touch-and-go. Two skull fractures and hes in and out of a coma. He keeps having heart attacks.SHANDRATwo skull fractures?! Who could do such a thing to that poor sweet man? Where is he?BENSadr City Hospital.SHANDRAWHAT? His own hospital? Just yesterday they said he was not there.BENThey had their orders. But I told them to let you in.SHANDRAI could scarcely believe my eyes when I saw him. He had aged twenty years. His head bundled in white bandages. No glasses, and his eyes sunken into his face. Obviously near death. But when I called his name, his eyes opened.ALIAh. My princess.SHANDRAMy love, my love, what have they done to you?ALIDo I look so terrible?SHANDRAHush now, hush. Save your strength.ALII tried to walk the tightrope. Alas, I have fallen off.SHANDRATightrope? The Baathists never bothered you. It was all the Americans.ALIThey mean well. ButBEN enters, hurrying.BENOh my god.SHANDRAHusband, the American is here.ALI[Excitedly:]Ben, Ben, is it you? Is it you, my brother?BENHere I am, Ali. I got here as soon as I could. Its really hectic down at the ministry, with all the new But I wanted Ali. Brother.[He takes ALIs hand.] What happened?SHANDRATell him, husband. Tell him what the Americans did to you.ALI begins to sit up. Gently, SHANDRA pushes him back down. Determined, ALI waves her off and sits up. As he speaks, he becomes more agitated.ALIWhen Saddam sent me to Abu Ghraib, they tormented me every day. They gave me electric shocks. They held my head under water. They were cruel. But one thing they did not do. They did not break my glasses. This the Americans did. They took away my dignity. Casually. Pointlessly. Before asking me the first question.BENEasy now, Ali.ALIThey do this to every prisoner every day. They must stop before they take away the dignity of the entire nation. Stop before they become the Baathist Party they wish to eliminate! You have influence, my friend, you can tell them the truth.BENTo them, Im just an errand boy.SHANDRAThey made you head of a ministry.BENThey can make me do whatever they want.Silence.SHANDRAWhat did they make you do, Mr. Dagleish?BENAfter you were gone, Ali, they came looking for you. I sent them away. Powerful people called. From Washington. Made terrible threats. Finally, II gave them your address. I didnt know what would happen.SHANDRAPerhaps you thought they would come with gifts.ALIThey would have found me in any case.SHANDRAThe honorable man. Your American brother.ALIEnough. Princess, my throat is parched. Kindly go and get me some water.SHANDRAButALIPlease.SHANDRA exits, hurriedly.BENAli, what Ive done is unforgivable.ALITo the contrary, Ben. I already forgave you, weeks ago.BENYou knew?ALIIt was the first thing the interrogators told me.BENWhy?ALITo break my spiritBENHow could you forgive that?ALIBen, you and I live at the mercy of men with power. Years ago, when Saddams police imprisoned me, they soon found I was innocent. But they wanted names. I knew none. The beatings continued. One name, they said, and we will stop. Finally, I blurted out the name of my wifes brother, Walid. Why Walid? I do not know. But he was a relative, and that convinced them. They released me and arrested Walid. He told them nothing, and the following Wednesday he was executed. I have never been able to tell my wife. Ben, what you did is as nothing.ALI falls back on the bed, exhausted.BENAli, that was under torture. I was justSHANDRA returns with a cup of water. She bends over ALI to give it to him. ALI does not respond.SHANDRAHere is the water, drink. What is wrong? Husband!BENAli!SHANDRA feels for a pulse. Pause. Shakes her head.SHANDRAHe is gone.BENWait! Let me call a doctor. MaybeSHANDRA pulls the sheet up over ALIs face.SHANDRAI told you: he is gone.BENWe need a defibrillator. We can try to resuscitate himSHANDRAPlease. Leave me alone with my husbandBENI cant just leave you like this. It wouldnt be Ive got to do somethingSHANDRAYou have already done quite enough. Now please get out of my sight.BENPlease, Mrs. Ramadi.SHANDRAMr. Dagleish, you are like the other Americans. You think you come here with the best of intentions, but your actions say otherwise. There is nothing more for you to do. Please leave us alone. Please go. Now.Reluctantly, BEN turns and exits.Lights go down briefly. BEN crosses to the other side of the stage.The lights come up again on BEN who is speaking into his cell phone.BENHi, Carl. Guess I missed you. Im putting two items into the diplomatic pouch tonight; you should get them tomorrow. The first is my resignation, effective immediately. The others a report from inside Abu Ghraib. The press will also get copies of the report tomorrow. Sorry things didnt work out. I just cant do this any more.Ben hangs up.

The End