2005 Year in Review

Torture

Are we comfortable with torture as a legitimate resource in the war against terror? I'm a little surprised that the compassionate conservative moral majority would go for this, but maybe I'm wrong (again).

I know we are told by our leadership that we do not torture prisoners of war although Human Rights Watch and the International Red Cross and practically everyone else on the planet seem to disagree. I guess it must be some kind of question of semantics like "what is the definition of torture?" There is currently an amendment to some bill in congress that would make torture illegal, but our president has threatened a veto if it comes to his desk. Why? I can only guess that he wants enemy combatants to at least think we might torture them even if he denies that we actually do.

Does anyone really think we gain credible information through torture? If pain, threatened or real, were inflicted on you wouldn't you just tell the torturer anything they wanted to know whether it was true or not? I think back to the Spanish Inquisition and the tactics used for conversion to Christianity and maybe the compassionate conservative is ok with that. One or two souls wasted in the attempt to convert a few thousand or so is worth it, right?

In many countries torture is used instead of building nice new prisons to thwart perceived enemies of the state. After a few hours or days of interrogation the suspect is much less likely to step out of line. In general, if you are stopped by police or anyone with a gun and asked to comply with their request you should do it. If for some reason you question their authority, show a little disrespect or think you can get away the chances are you will suffer some repercussions. This is universally understood. I don't think any law anywhere will protect you from stupidity.

But warfare seems to be a whole new thing these days of only one superpower. Who is negotiating for the release of prisoners in the war against terror except maybe those who are also citizens of European countries or Australia? I guess we've declared war on an ideology. If we release the enemy combatants, who we have held for years now, will we be victims of their revenge? Is it ok to send prisoners to countries where torture might be a little more acceptable?

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty confused.

Late breaking news: the president has agreed to sign the defense spending bill which will include the exclusion of torture amendment. Well, duh... Is this some sort of endorsement of John McCain as the next Republican presidential nominee? At least his head and heart are in the right place.

Will this help us (the US) gain some moral high ground in world opinion? I think it's a slippery slope, but it's a step in the right direction. I was once asked if there were a lot of crazy people in the Arab world like the suicide bombers. I figure the percentage closely matches the number of crazy people here in the US and the rest of the Christian world.

PS. Merry Christmas! Even if you think shopping and cleaning the house for guests is torture.

by Marc Adami, Guest Columnist
December 15, 2005