In light of the recent GOP debate on International Policy, I wanted to take a slight break from economic policy to discuss torture.
I know it is amazing to me, but in 2011 America, somebody has to stand up against torture as an instrument of foreign policy. But somebody does, and I think it should be military people who do. So being a veteran, and being somebody who believes that the Democrats need to be strong on foreign policy, I think it is even more important to stand up against torture, especially torture in the form of "enhanced interrogation techniques."
Even military people know that might is not always right. Sometimes being strong is simply wrong, especially when the purported means of being strong is being uninformed by using means and methods that are immoral, illegal, and ineffective. As someone who has been waterboarded, I can testify it is both ineffective and constitutes torture.
Michelle Bachman: Waterboarding is "very effective" and "[i]t gained information for our country."
Herman Cain: Against torture, but does not consider waterboarding torture.
Rick Perry: stated that Enhanced interrogation techniques "save young American lives. This is war. That's what happens in war. "
Rick Santorum: Enhanced techniques had been successful in gathering information, and "critical" in the war against terror.
Not surprisingly, Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman came out against waterboarding and other forms of torture (and Romney avoided taking a position on the issue).
But more importantly the statements by Perry, Bachmann, Cain and Santorum are all demonstrably false.
Indeed, while as a Christian I oppose these policies because they are immoral, as believer in personal liberty I oppose these police because they are so dehumanizing that they corrupt the foundation of our national government's foundation for governing, but equally as important, as a military man I am opposed to these policies because they simply do not work - except to provide false information.
Specifically, both GOP Senator John McCain and CIA Director Leon Pentta have made it clear that the use of waterboarding was not successful , and had not assisted the war of terror in capturing Al Qaida or stopping terror in its tracks." Indeed, waterboarding "produced false information" according to GOP Senator McCain.
The fact is that waterboarding was not invented to gather good information. Rather waterboarding was invented to break the will of prisoners. Waterboarding goes all the way back to the Spanish Inquisition. Any student of interrogation techniques will tell you that waterboarding simply does not work at providing valid intelligence information.
For example, contrary to GOP exaggerations, waterboarding did not work did not work against al Qaida terrorists, and waterboarding simply does not work against anybody.
I watched Dick Cheney's speech to the American Enterprise Institute today in awe. Apparently Mr. Cheney is a student of Joseph Goebbels who was a master practitioner of the "big lie". The "big lie" was defined by Adolph Hitler in Mein Kampf as a lie so "colossal" that no one would believe that someone "could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously". Of course one must also repeat said colossal lie ad nauseam and in fact Dick Cheney has been doing so in one form or another for over seven years now.
Cheney managed to string together a whole series of bald faced lies about links between Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda, Iraq's purported possession of weapons of mass destruction, the notion that when we use water boarding it's an "enhanced interrogation technique" while if anyone else does it it's torture and finally that the torture led to the prevention of further attacks rather than that they were attempts to justify invading Iraq ex post facto.
I've got to give it to Mr. Cheney while he maybe a war criminal of the first order he certainly has message discipline.
Tonight I will be a co-host on Biased Transmission, a progressive talk radio show which airs on 89.1FM KEOS every Wednesday from 6:00pm - 7:00pm. Kenneth Michael Absher*, a fellow at the Texas A&M University Bush School of Government and Public Service, was scheduled to be a guest on tonight's show and participate in a discussion about the Bush Administration's "enhanced interrogation" policies. Absher, who served for over 30 years in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), informed the show that he is "committed to activities that will prevent [him] from being available for an interview on [the] radio show for the foreseeable future"
Meanwhile, back in Iraq, our troops are fainting and vomiting because they cannot get enough water.
Dick and Rush, the masters of hate, deception and lies don't care about the troops. They have no clue about such suffering because both begged to be bailed out of military service during a mandatory draft.
Former aide to Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson knows all about draft evading Cheney. Wilkerson tells Cheney to shut up and go away.
10:19: Senator Leahy: this is one of most important hearings Judiciary Committee this year. OLC wrote predetermined and premeditated legal opinions that authorized torture. That OLC so misused its authority is one of the fundamental breakdowns in the rule of law. Leahy describes the latest memos' horrors. Leahy cites American exceptionalism and hypocrisy: we would never permit these techniques against Americans. Cites idea that president is above the law. In this country no one is above the law. Leahy still wants a "bipartisan commission." Two weeks ago, Leahy says, he invited Judge Jay Bybee to come testify. Leahy "wishes" he would. (Doesn't this committee have the power of subpoena and the power of inherent contempt?)
Humans love short cuts. Americans in particular have developed a culture based on instant gratification. There is, however, a price to pay for cutting corners. As my momma used to tell me, lazy people work the hardest. Our national security agencies are learning this lesson the hard way. It takes good old fashion hard work to keep America safe.
Our security requires good intelligence. The very word "intelligence" should give us a clue that short cuts will not work. Thinking may be natural, but it takes practice and effort. The mind is like every other muscle; it needs proper exercise and diet. Feeding a well-trained mind junk information produces bad results. Our Intelligence services need to break their addiction to junk information and start exercising more.
My oldest son will enter the US Army in June. In all likelihood he will go overseas with thousands of our brave men and women. If captured by the enemy, do I want him water boarded? Do I want his captors to strip him naked, to throw freezing water on him, to slap his face or to slam him repeatedly against a wall?
When I think about torture, I'm reminded of the story told in almost every Roman Catholic Church. Hanging on the walls are the Stations of the Cross. They tell how the Romans tortured and then murdered Jesus.
Who would Jesus torture? No one. Torture is wrong. It clearly violates the Golden Rule: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets" (Matthew 7:12).
I will remember the last 8 years of financial destruction here in the US and the bloodshed of millions of civilians on a global scale. most honest political and financial experts consider him the worst leader america has ever had and this is why.
Worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression
Lied about the war in Iraq
No WMD's found in Iraq
Vetoed health coverage for kids
Ignored law, allowed torture
Illegal wiretapping
Had enough info to stop 9/11 and didn't, hid that fact from the public
Lost Bin laden at Tora Bora
Crassly unconstitutional signing statements
Stripped resources from Afghanistan and sent them to Iraq
Didn't catch Bin Laden
Allowed Al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan Afghan war out of control
Lied about reducing greenhouse emissions, ignored warming
Muzzled warming scientists in NASA and elsewhere
Political appointments to Department of Justice and political prosecutions
Cheney, Rove, and others in contempt of Congress -- refused to tell the American people the truth
Fooled public into believing Saddam was involved in 9/11 when he knew otherwise
Made light of inabilty to find WMD's
Please sign the petition to investigate Bush/Cheney for war crimes. Then pass it on to everyony you know that will sign it.
The House Intelligence Committee's top Democrat said Tuesday he has recommended that President-elect Barack Obama keep the country's current national intelligence director and CIA chief in place for some time to ensure continuity in U.S. intelligence programs during the transition to a new administration.
Intelligence Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, said he also recommended to Obama's transition team that some parts of the CIA's controversial alternative interrogation program should be allowed to continue. He declined to say what he specifically recommended, however.
I am so annoyed and horrified at Bush and his cronies. He can't even define HUMAN DIGNITY! As he stated at his press conference last week, he can't define human dignity and therefore needs to have Congress change the current interpretation of the Geneva convention, article 3, so that he can TORTURE people!
How he can argue with McCain, a man who was tortured at the Hanoi Hilton in Vietnam is beyond me. Watch this old movie, Return with Honor (1998) a documentary on the Vietnam POW's, where they discuss torture, and you will see without a doubt that torture does not get credible information. The POW's outline what they did when tortured, which was making up information just to get the torture to stop.
Worse yet, McCain et al caved in today. I guess the cult of Bush wins. McCain et al, can't stand up except for a show for re-election purposes. They don't seem to have real morals, they just do the expedient thing to look good.
Have you ever looked up the definition of a cult?
Here it is:
Every cult can be defined as a group having all of the following 5 characteristics:
1. It uses psychological coercion to recruit, indoctrinate and retain its members. [Think terrorism and fear]
2. It forms an elitist totalitarian society [think only the rich and powerful]
3. Its founder leader is self-appointed, dogmatic, messianic, not accountable and has charisma [remember Bush said that God appointed him]
4. It believes 'the end justifies the means' in order to solicit funds recruit people {goes without saying]
5. Its wealth does not benefit its members or society [same here, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer and the rest are left behind]
I want my country back, the one that respected humanity, and was not scared and cowed by a president, a country that was proud to set an example of their values. Torture is not a Christian value, or a value of any other religion. And I am sick, sick of these brainwashed cult followers!
