For John, BLUF: Torturing people is not the best way. Nothing to see here; just move along.
Over at the Huffington Post we have a column on the use of torture. The two authors, retired Air Force Colonel Morris (Mo) Davis and Presbyterian Minister Richard L Killmer, are against it. For what it is worth, Colonel Davis was, for two years, the Chief Prosecutor for the Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The two authors are referencing the recently released movie Zero Dark Thirty. Actually, the real question is why we tortured the perfectly acceptable "oh dark thirty" to come up with a pseudo-accurate term that has an additional syllable.
One way to remember this is "Torture achieves compliance; proper interrogation gains cooperation." Jack Bauer notwithstanding.
To be clear, torture, to include enhanced interrogation methods, was wrong when it was the Bush Administration—to their shame—and it is still wrong today.
UPDATE: What did he mean by the Title, "Card Deeds, in Our Name". Trying to walk back the auto-correct, I am thinking I meant "Cruel" and made a typo, or "Dark". I am going with "Dark".
Regards — Cliff
Symptomatic of the schizophrenic nature of the US Federal government. Do as we say, not as we do even if we admit that we do. While this sounds like an indictment, I think it is instead simply a commentary on human behavior in groups.
ReplyDeleteWe brag that America is the land of the free, and it is, at least mostly. But America does a lot of dictatorial things to its citizenry.....all for their own good of course. And frankly....and perhaps even thankfully....we do a lot of things to keep us free. Evil is a real thing in this world and life. It is not some philosophy. It is tangible and terrible. It can be fought only on its own terms which is a dangerous path necessary to take. One must be careful lest they become as bad or worse than the evil they are fighting.
Perhaps one of the most telling questions of modern times is that uttered by The Shadow. "Who knows what evil lurks in the heart of a man?" (I assume that the Shadow meant to include women in that question.)
BTW, the thoughtful press has almost completely discredited Zero Dark Thirty. Or maybe that is a conspiracy.......oh no......
My excuse for a late response is I have the flu. One point I may disagree with is the one you make about "It can be fought only on its own terms...". I am thinking that the "Sun Tzu" answer is to find new terms upon which to fight, thus overthrowing the strategy of the terrorists, who are using terrorism not just for the pure joy of the power it gives them, but also because it is all they have.
ReplyDeleteWhat would that alternative strategy be? I will have to get back to you on that.
Regards — Cliff
And thus my point that fighting evil (no matter what its form may be expressed) is a dangerous path to take as one can easily and quickly become as dastardly as that which one opposes.
ReplyDeleteBut, I don't agree that "nice" strategies play well with evil. It is good for the press releases, but in some way, evil itself must be vanquished in the same manner as one would eliminate a poisonous snake in one's home.
To quote a nameless Texan, "Some folks just need killin'."
Better you than me on that flu. I took my vaccination.....but somehow don't feel very invincible.
Don't feel invincible. I too had a flu shot.
ReplyDeleteAs Geena Davis said back in 1986: "Be afraid. Be very afraid."
Regards — Cliff