Posts Tagged ‘Torture Memos’

Update: Apparently the people who devised the legal strategies ignored strong opposition from the military.  Many in the military recognized that the behavior the strategy was meant to justify was illegal.  This would aid in prosecuting those that crafted the strategy.

Obama recently released the torture memos from the Bush administration. There is, of course, outrage. But the outrage is misplaced. Many people are outraged at their release. That’s right, not at the horrible things done in the name of the United States, but at the fact that we now know about it. If you haven’t looked at the list, here are some depressing lows we’ve hit:

• One detainee was waterboarded 183 times in one month
• “Walling” or slamming detainees into a wall (with protective neck gear)
• Confinement in a box with an insect (insect for detainee who feared insects)
• Slapping
• Prolonged nudity
• Wall Standing (standing 5 feet from a wall and supporting your weight entirely with your fingertips for prolonged periods of time)
• Stress positions
• Sleep deprivation (up to 11 days)
• All fluid diet

That’s not America.

People like Karl Rove are mad that these memos were released because it let the terrorists know what we do. Seriously? First of all, if that was an issue, it would imply that we were going to continue this crap. Secondly, how will this change the strategies of terrorists? Will they now stop recruiting people who want to destroy America but have a pesky fear of insects? Thirdly, do you think the people willing to blow themselves up for an unachievable goal are too concerned with preparing to be caught? Fourthly, the best most information we get occurs before the torturing even starts. Torturing people doesn’t get you actionable intelligence.

This seems like another means for the people who destroyed the integrity of our country and the country itself to deflect the criticism and prosecution from themselves. They have actually managed to at least partially frame the debate as if it is about whether or not Obama should have released the memos. By reframing this, they have taken light off the debate about whether or not to prosecute. Obama originally said he would not seek to prosecute the men who devised the legal authority for these tactics, but he seems to have changed his mind. I don’t even think that is the most relevant debate. The debate should be about the proper punishment of those who allowed this to happen. I’m sure they would hope it isn’t cruel and unusual.

Here’s a video from the Daily Show that is pretty awesome:

Here’s a few links to read:
In this one, Russ Feingold supports prosecution and nails Peggy Noonan for the comments you saw at the end of the Daily Show clip: Feingold’s reaction
Here is a NY Times link: torture memos
Here is a link to the Telegraph: more from the torture memos
Here you can actually read through the torture memos: actual torture memos

Enjoy a new direction.

Adam Feser