More Torture
Torture Watch
"We do not torture," Bush declared, responding to reports of secret CIA prisons. "We're working with Congress to make sure that as we go forward, we make it possible, more possible, to do our job. There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again. And so, you bet we will aggressively pursue them. But we will do so under the law." Meanwhile, Cheney is seeking to persuade Congress to exempt the CIA from the proposed torture ban.
So, let’s see… Bush wants Congress to enact a law legalizing torture so that torture will be legal and so Bush can say that he acted within the law.
The same day, U.S. command announced five soldiers from an elite unit were charged with abusing helpless prisoners.
WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT OUTRAGED OVER THIS???
I know, I know. It’s because in America, people are not innocent until proven guilty; they are guilty until proven innocent.
Plus, we have the movies and Hollywood to deal with. In the movies or on TV, the good guy captures a terrorist, who is dirty, unshaven, and clearly evil. The terrorist taunts the good guy, telling him that the bomb is set to go off in less than an hour and that there is no way to stop it. The good guy, forced to act, beats the crap out of the bad guy, who spills the beans where the bomb is. The good guy handcuffs the bad guy to a pole and runs off to save the innocent civilians. Torture has come to the rescue!
Reality is much worse. First of all, torture is inhumane. It also typically doesn’t yield reliable results, because the person being tortured will say whatever he or she thinks the interrogator wants to hear. Most importantly, torture is un-American; America stands for the right to due process, the right to see your accuser, the right to a fair and speedy trial, the right to an attorney…
Anything less than this means that we are stooping to the level of the terrorists, and if we do that, the terrorists really have already won.
-John Locke
"We do not torture," Bush declared, responding to reports of secret CIA prisons. "We're working with Congress to make sure that as we go forward, we make it possible, more possible, to do our job. There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again. And so, you bet we will aggressively pursue them. But we will do so under the law." Meanwhile, Cheney is seeking to persuade Congress to exempt the CIA from the proposed torture ban.
So, let’s see… Bush wants Congress to enact a law legalizing torture so that torture will be legal and so Bush can say that he acted within the law.
The same day, U.S. command announced five soldiers from an elite unit were charged with abusing helpless prisoners.
WHY ARE PEOPLE NOT OUTRAGED OVER THIS???
I know, I know. It’s because in America, people are not innocent until proven guilty; they are guilty until proven innocent.
Plus, we have the movies and Hollywood to deal with. In the movies or on TV, the good guy captures a terrorist, who is dirty, unshaven, and clearly evil. The terrorist taunts the good guy, telling him that the bomb is set to go off in less than an hour and that there is no way to stop it. The good guy, forced to act, beats the crap out of the bad guy, who spills the beans where the bomb is. The good guy handcuffs the bad guy to a pole and runs off to save the innocent civilians. Torture has come to the rescue!
Reality is much worse. First of all, torture is inhumane. It also typically doesn’t yield reliable results, because the person being tortured will say whatever he or she thinks the interrogator wants to hear. Most importantly, torture is un-American; America stands for the right to due process, the right to see your accuser, the right to a fair and speedy trial, the right to an attorney…
Anything less than this means that we are stooping to the level of the terrorists, and if we do that, the terrorists really have already won.
-John Locke
posted by John Locke | 11:45 PM
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