While the White House is still trying to negotiate with Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., on torture policy, the Army is moving to circumvent efforts to bar cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees, The New York Times reported. McCain’s proposal requires that only interrogation techniques authorized by the new Army field manual be used on prisoners held by the military. But the Army has just approved a new 10-page classified addendum to the field manual that reportedly pushes the envelope on what is legal. “This is a stick in McCain’s eye,” one official told The Times. “It goes right up to the edge.” This is bad policy and bad politics.
Posted by Phillip Brownlee
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6 Comments
I’m continually surprised by the lack of professionalism, not to mention empathy, that has crept into the armed services mindset since Vietnam. For example, US troops there used to place the ace of spades on dead enemy troops, supposedly as a form of psychological warfare. It seems to have acted more as a psychological “motivator” for young, immature, Ameerican soldiers. It was in bad taste, to say the least, and it ended up being just one more thing that alienated US troops from the population whose hearts and minds they were there trying to win over.
Torture serves no purpose except to, once again, alienate US troops – indeed the US itself – from the very people supposedly being “saved”. The information obtained with torture is known to be generally unreliable.
The US military should strive to be viewed as an unstoppable juggernaut by enemy troops, but as a model for fair and just administration to the local population in areas under its control. Acting ethically, professionally, and in a manner that is consistent with local and world sensibilities, would go a long way towards establishing that image.
Well put Brian, the French seen the U.S. as liberators. The Vienamise and the Iracis had come to see us either directly or indirectly as protagonists.
Brain, That’s a refreshingly intelligent post. The Vietnamese are an agrarian society, so politics is not at the forefront.
The farmer has his ox and kill his ox, as we did, starves his family. Simple as that.
The real problem with torture is that it’s one of the most spectacular ways to cede the moral high ground in President Bush’s global “war on terror.”
And when your country’s foreign policy is a function of “after 9/11, you’re either with us or against us,” ceding the moral high ground yields a too-large number of countries sitting the whole thing out while they take a fresh look at the US.
It also opens the door for too many bad guy to get together and form too many “gray area” coalitions to profit from the fence-sitters’ inaction.
For instance, Iran has got to be deliriously happy over President Bush’s refusal to end American torture. It makes taking action to oppose Iran that much more difficult (for all those countries who should be “with us”), and may give Iran just enough time to acquire modern distribution means for its nuclear weapons.
Torturing people is never going to be a winner when we’re trying to win minds and influence people. I can’t believe the President doesn’t see this. If there were ever a time to fly right and sit up straight, this is surely it.
This post, in USA today, shows what these idiots who condone torture as a means to an end, think:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/editorials/2005-12-14-oppose_x.htm
Three fourths of the american public will believe the administration when it says it’s compliant with McCains ban.They will never even hear about the changes made to circumvent the ban.