"We do not torture", says the President. Unbelievable. Does he read the news?
Andrew Sullivan, with whom I do not always agree, has been on top of this torture thing from the beginning and says it right this time. Especially this part: torture is not good for America. In any way.
Monday, November 07, 2005
The Torture President is in denial
Posted by Bell Curve at 12:50 PM
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4 comments:
Like so much that comes out of Bush's mouth, this is just another lie.
Now he says that making a law about torture is bad because it will tip off terrorists in advance to what they will, and will not, face in US custody. This is an amazing example of a Bush lie that was not well thought through.
1. Bush has said he does not torture. His remarks imply that terrorists do not believe him, but they would believe a law. Admittedly, Bush has no credibility, but I would not be waving that around if I were him.
2. Terrorists would, however, read the US code in detail, and the Army Field Manual. This seems hard to believe.
3. Terrorists believe that Bush would obey a law, even though they have seen the abuses at Abu Ghraib, which was definitely against the law, even by Bush's admission.
4. Bush wants an exception for the CIA, not the military. So he means that the terrorists will be aware of which arm of the US government is holding them, and will react accordingly. My head hurts.
5. Bush's official position is that he has the power, as Commander in Chief, to break any law on the battlefield. This is not a joke, this is seriously his position, advanced by John Yoo, the turncoat from Berkeley. So I don't believe he will obey the law.
// posted by LTG
I am convinced that Bush is acting like the recovering alcholic that he is. He is drowning in the mire his own actions have taken. In fact, the US government is just another failed business deal for him. And once again, he is protected by a coterie. And now he lapses into these bouts of either extreme stupidy, irrationaly, or just plain denial that go beyond the norm , even for him. He believes whatever is convenient and comforting at the moment. I refer you all to the description of a Dry Drunk . I think that will make it all pretty clear.
// posted by USWest
I don't know how much I buy into that "dry drunk" stuff, but there is an eye-opening video that suggests the same thing ...
// posted by Bell Curve
You might be right about Bush being a liar. Are not all politicians liars? They usually cannot get elected without hiding the truth which is a form of lying. About torture, I agree with the experts that say that torture typically does not work.
But,
If it was proven to "work," I would hope that the government would employ it to save innocents from pain and death. If they have to lie about it so be it.
You have a choice; risk detaining, aggressive questioning, and possibly torturing an innocent citizen of the world (that you have creditable evidence knows something that can stop a bomb going off at a wedding), or you can worry about the terrorist's rights and let 57 people die a horrible death including the groom's and the bride's fathers.
Your choice. Depending how you choose, I hope that you are not maimed by a bomb that could have been stopped by aggressive questioning.
Bush should tell the liberals they were right, pull out of Iraq and Afghanistan, denounce the support for Israel, and let all of the poor detainees free. To prove a point, I would let set them free and get them established in New York, Boston, Seattle, So. CA. I am sure Ted K. would not mind a few more downtrodden neighbors to represent. Of course as soon as the fundamental Islamists realized that we show sex on TV, allow abortions, let women vote, hell let women outside without a male escort, only allow one wife, don’t cut off a women’s clitoris, don't pray five times a day, don't kill those that don't agree with you, etc the bombs will just start going off again.
Has any group the United States has fought in a conflict, ever, not engaged in torture of American Soldiers and Airmen?
// posted by Ken
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