Torture? Who, Me?
Four years and a day after the terrorist attacks and BellSouth.net posts an interesting poll: "Should the CIA be exempt from the Congressional ban on torture." What's interesting is that, as of the time I voted, the respondents are just about evenly divided, with 53% voting yes, and 47% voting no.
It's appalling to me that over half of the respondents voted for the exemption, thereby tacitly approving torture by the CIA, especially given the vast number of assumptions the "yes" voters must make. The question doesn't reveal who the people are who might be tortured, under what circumstances torture might be used, what methods of torture are being contemplated, or what limits (if any) might be placed on the duration of the torture.
While in the Navy, I was subjected to SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) Training prior to being sent to Vietnam. During week 3 of that training, my company was deprived of food, water, and sleep. We were imprisoned in a mock prison camp for 18 hours and interrogated using methods ranging from yelling and shoving to blows and water torture (being placed on a bench, cloth covering the face, and water forced into the mouth -- which creates a sensation of drowning). Our "captors" were fellow sailors. There were strict rules concerning what could and could not be done. The entire exercise was supervised by Navy officers. The result? One "prisoner's" ulcer began to bleed. Another's hand was scalded. Yet another's wrist was broken. Many, including me, suffered subdural hematomas. Everybody was dehydrated to the danger point. Yet this was merely a "training" exercise conducted by our "friends" to help prepare us for the truly unfathomable prospects we faced should we be captured by an enemy.
The written record of torture, from the Inquisition to Nazi Germany to our own POWs in Vietnam, reveals that, under torture, anyone will say anything. Furthermore, torture degrades and dehumanizes not only the one being tortured, but the one(s) doing the torture.
In closing for this morning, I'd like to refer you to the following PBS article: (You'll have to copy and paste until I figure out how to get the link business to work.)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/
Let me know how you feel about torture.
It's appalling to me that over half of the respondents voted for the exemption, thereby tacitly approving torture by the CIA, especially given the vast number of assumptions the "yes" voters must make. The question doesn't reveal who the people are who might be tortured, under what circumstances torture might be used, what methods of torture are being contemplated, or what limits (if any) might be placed on the duration of the torture.
While in the Navy, I was subjected to SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) Training prior to being sent to Vietnam. During week 3 of that training, my company was deprived of food, water, and sleep. We were imprisoned in a mock prison camp for 18 hours and interrogated using methods ranging from yelling and shoving to blows and water torture (being placed on a bench, cloth covering the face, and water forced into the mouth -- which creates a sensation of drowning). Our "captors" were fellow sailors. There were strict rules concerning what could and could not be done. The entire exercise was supervised by Navy officers. The result? One "prisoner's" ulcer began to bleed. Another's hand was scalded. Yet another's wrist was broken. Many, including me, suffered subdural hematomas. Everybody was dehydrated to the danger point. Yet this was merely a "training" exercise conducted by our "friends" to help prepare us for the truly unfathomable prospects we faced should we be captured by an enemy.
The written record of torture, from the Inquisition to Nazi Germany to our own POWs in Vietnam, reveals that, under torture, anyone will say anything. Furthermore, torture degrades and dehumanizes not only the one being tortured, but the one(s) doing the torture.
In closing for this morning, I'd like to refer you to the following PBS article: (You'll have to copy and paste until I figure out how to get the link business to work.)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/torture/
Let me know how you feel about torture.
posted by Thomas | 1:25 PM
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