The question of torture
Torture obviously hurts the victim, but it also damages the psyche of the torturer. It hurts the morale of the army forced to listen to the screams of the suffering - not to mention the personal safety of any American soldier that might be captured by insurgents.
Torture hurts our credibility and democratic principles, and deeply undercuts our leadership throughout the world. We’ve lost the respect of even our closest allies since we lowered ourselves to this level of thug behavior. We are behaving no better than a banana republic.
That we overthrew Saddam - partly on the argument that he tortured Iraqis and used chemical weapons against his own people - and we later used his very prison of Abu Ghraib to torture Iraqi citizens (most of them completely innocent of any wrongdoing,) is unconscionable. It is also incredibly, unbelievably STUPID.
Lastly, advocating torture hurts all Americans - it destroys our credibility as a democratic and 'just' nation, and has done immeasurable damage to our reputation around the world.
Our grandparents’ generation stormed the beaches in Normandy to overthrow fascism, and many saw first hand the results of Nazi torture when they liberated the concentration camps. They were liberators and heroes, and many people came to see America as a force for good in the world. We have betrayed our parents and grandparents with this abominable behavior. It is completely unworthy of their example and their sacrifices.
During the second GOP debate, John McCain said simply “it’s not about the terrorists, it’s about us. It’s about what kind of country we are.” That anyone on that stage had the temerity to promote torture in front of a former Vietnam POW... defies reason. But then, as Al Gore will tell you, 'reason' is hard to come by these days.
And as for these strange, pro-torture, ‘Christian’ presidential candidates like Romney... I challenge you to find any positive mention of torture - anywhere - in the New Testament. Christ taught his followers to ‘turn the other cheek.’ Christ said ‘blessed are the peace makers.’
The only mention of torture in the entire New Testament is the torture inflicted on Jesus himself: and if you want to line up on THAT side, please refrain from using the word ‘Christian’ when describing yourselves.
UPDATE: 5/23/2007 - terrific article about the disastrous fallout from the use of torture techniques in Iraq, "Torture Betrays Us," by by Charles C. Krulak & Joseph P. Hoar
(Krulak was commandant of the Marine Corps from 1995 to 1999. Hoar was commander in chief of U.S. Central Command from 1991 to 1994.)
Labels: Abu Ghraib, Christian, Romney, torture
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