Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Torture is Anti-American
You don't have to be John McCain or a faith leader to know that torture is wrong. Clearly our Founding Fathers, who had some experience with the randomly brutal British legal system of its day, thought enough of this that 'cruel and unusual punishment' is expressly targeted in our Constitution's Bill of Rights.
Still, TeamBush is making a play to get around US laws and international treaties like the Geneva Convention by simply changing them to its liking. Bush has used information about top al Qaeda captives in his PR campaign to allow 'alternative methods' of questioning detainees. He referenced Khalid Sheik Mohammed ('KSM' in Bush nickname speak) frequently. Ok so here we have a guy who we know to be a major player, in fact, the mastermind of 9/11. Our fear of further attacks allows us to justify such methods in our own minds, which is always how the appeasers of 'alternative methods' work. It must be justified in some cases, limited cases, cases where innocent lives are imminently at stake.
But let's look at three realities. The big fish like ol' KSM, they weren't waterboarded or whipped with metal cables, or had their faces swathed in used women's underwear. They were given the subtle slow interrogation that uses flattery and rewards and psychology to get information--methods that work. (Question to TeamBush: Here's the guy who planned 9/11, are we ever going to see him tried?)
Torture's track record is shoddy at best. First, many people under such duress say anything to get the pain to stop. Such information is rarely useful. And let's remember, the people we intend on torturing, the al Qaeda honchos as Bush would have us believe, well these folks are really into martyrdom. Its pretty much their ideal way of going out. Does anyone actually think they, of all people, are going to cave? Not bloody likely.
But worse, when a culture of torture, of extreme alternative methods of interrogation, exists it trickles down and permeates throughout the military and justice systems. Look at the case of Maher Arar. Mistakenly linked to a possible supporter of terrorism this Canadian national of Syrian origin was detained by US security and shipped off to Syria for some 'alternative questioning' for several months until they figured out that he was in fact innocent. It also turns out that when US agents contacted the Canadians they didn't really mention that Arar was taking a special CIA plane to a repressive hellhole for questioning, apparently knowing that Canada has a weird problem with torturing their citizens, even naturalized brown ones.
And this is just one guy, a guy who's case we've heard of only because he got the attention of outraged Canadians. We know that the majority of the people in Guantanamo are in fact innocent. How much 'alternative questioning' have they endured? Or those folks in the piles at Abu Ghraib? And does anyone really think that someone who was indeed innocent and went through that kind of torment at the hands of US operatives or their buddies is simply going to 'live and let live?' Not a chance.
It's a fools game; which explains why TeamBush is playing it.
You don't have to be John McCain or a faith leader to know that torture is wrong. Clearly our Founding Fathers, who had some experience with the randomly brutal British legal system of its day, thought enough of this that 'cruel and unusual punishment' is expressly targeted in our Constitution's Bill of Rights.
Still, TeamBush is making a play to get around US laws and international treaties like the Geneva Convention by simply changing them to its liking. Bush has used information about top al Qaeda captives in his PR campaign to allow 'alternative methods' of questioning detainees. He referenced Khalid Sheik Mohammed ('KSM' in Bush nickname speak) frequently. Ok so here we have a guy who we know to be a major player, in fact, the mastermind of 9/11. Our fear of further attacks allows us to justify such methods in our own minds, which is always how the appeasers of 'alternative methods' work. It must be justified in some cases, limited cases, cases where innocent lives are imminently at stake.
But let's look at three realities. The big fish like ol' KSM, they weren't waterboarded or whipped with metal cables, or had their faces swathed in used women's underwear. They were given the subtle slow interrogation that uses flattery and rewards and psychology to get information--methods that work. (Question to TeamBush: Here's the guy who planned 9/11, are we ever going to see him tried?)
Torture's track record is shoddy at best. First, many people under such duress say anything to get the pain to stop. Such information is rarely useful. And let's remember, the people we intend on torturing, the al Qaeda honchos as Bush would have us believe, well these folks are really into martyrdom. Its pretty much their ideal way of going out. Does anyone actually think they, of all people, are going to cave? Not bloody likely.
But worse, when a culture of torture, of extreme alternative methods of interrogation, exists it trickles down and permeates throughout the military and justice systems. Look at the case of Maher Arar. Mistakenly linked to a possible supporter of terrorism this Canadian national of Syrian origin was detained by US security and shipped off to Syria for some 'alternative questioning' for several months until they figured out that he was in fact innocent. It also turns out that when US agents contacted the Canadians they didn't really mention that Arar was taking a special CIA plane to a repressive hellhole for questioning, apparently knowing that Canada has a weird problem with torturing their citizens, even naturalized brown ones.
And this is just one guy, a guy who's case we've heard of only because he got the attention of outraged Canadians. We know that the majority of the people in Guantanamo are in fact innocent. How much 'alternative questioning' have they endured? Or those folks in the piles at Abu Ghraib? And does anyone really think that someone who was indeed innocent and went through that kind of torment at the hands of US operatives or their buddies is simply going to 'live and let live?' Not a chance.
It's a fools game; which explains why TeamBush is playing it.
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