Of Course, Investigate
The squeamishness shown by the White House toward investigating people who committed torture is most unfortunate. If anyone under the American flag tortured anyone they should be punished. After being convicted in a court of law. Promptly. Unlike most of the detainees in Guantanamo and in rendition centers around the world.
It’s most curious that those who opposed the court-ordered release of the investigation into the CIA "enhanced interrogation" practices choose as their line-in-the-sand defense that they got information from their mistreatment of prisoners that prevented other terrorist attacks, principally in Pakistan.
But let’s be clear that such claims are suspicious at best. It’s far from proven that information hadn’t already or wouldn’t soon have been revealed without the torture.
There is, however, an even greater disputation of their position, one that illuminates the inanity of their argument. It is this question: Would the treatment still have been justified if they hadn’t gotten the information? Well, there would have been no defense at all.
Another shameless fig leaf is that these torturers were acting under legitimate legal authority. They must mean just like Joseph Mengele and the other Nazi angels of death.
The foundation rule of conduct in the American military is to never follow an illegal order. Documents written by John Yoo allegedly approving torture were patently false on their face. Any moral being would have scoffed at them. The CIA used them as permission slips to conduct brutal, and sometimes lethal, interrogation.
It was not only their helpless prisoners who suffered, but the United States of America and everything we stand for, or did. We do indeed need a thorough investigation. We owe it to those who came before and those who will follow.
©2009 SetonnoteS
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