Arkansas Blog

"a group of experts advising the intelligence agencies are arguing that the harsh techniques used since the 2001 terrorist attacks are outmoded, amateurish and unreliable."

Fascism is an attitude of mind. They look to the past, want to revitalize the values of the past and give them new energy, new drive. When it comes to torture, the Medieval Ages are their shining examples to imitate and to revitalize. The Third Reich was a modern industrial state with a society that was rooted into the past. America has great danger of being the same.

I think I'll let George Washington speak for me.....

Battle of Trenton on Dec. 25, 1776

The soldiers of the continental army took the Hessians and said these soldiers are mercenaries and we should take retribution on them. They wanted the Hessians to run the gauntlet and they would beat them with sticks.

"General Washington said we will not do this. He said these people will be treated with respect and dignity and they will suffer no abuse or torture, because to do otherwise would bring dishonor upon our sacred cause.

"That's one of the first orders given to the continental army and that antedates the United States. It has been military tradition for 240 years, and it was stopped by Donald Rumsfeld."

Yes, but doesn't it give many Americans the satisfaction of getting back at those terrorists. Making them suffer. Making them pay.

A particular irony struck me in the article. These same folks who tout them and their leader Ronald Regan's "destruction" of the Soviet Union have turned to using the old Soviet styles or torture. That gives whole new meaning to St. Augustine's observation: "Never fight evil as if it were something totally outside yourself."

This will work. Do good to them that despise you. If you torture them they will hate you all the more..

When our military, intel, or police have someone captured...it becomes all about us and who were are or are not..

We are now all torturers..and to think it cannot happen to you or your loved ones is foolish.

This is a very dangerous precident and must be reversed. Bush did this illegally and had congress ( with support of many Democrats) in the last session make it legal to cover his arse( what should in and of itself have been an impeachable offense for endangering our troops while ordering them to conduct illegal and immoral acts.) That is bad enough but we need to reverse the law and restore dignity to the process. For one thing it does indeed make some countries think twice about torturing our captives when they know we wont torture ourselves.

Bush also has ordered torture on US citizens already... its accelerating with no oversite... nothing in any law says torture will end when this so called war is over nor is it helping now (as the NYT article points out)

Senator Dodd D-CT and others are leading the way towards restoration...

I expect he will answer some questions on this topic (live) this afternoon..

Check here if interested

The administration will ignore this, just like they ignore any information that comes from "researchers."

"The President's Constitutional Authority To Conduct Operations Against Terrorists and Nations Supporting Them"

here

http://www.usdoj.gov/
olc/warpowers925.htm

Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340 2340A ," written by Jay. S. Beebe, then with Bush's Office of Legal Counsel but then, as a reward for his diligence, a lifetime appointment to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

at my name.. link to the pdf