Sunday, July 19, 2009

If Waterboarding Isn't Torture...

Posted by Jack Hunter on Sun, Jul 19, 2009 at 3:20 PM

This is a repost of my latest at Post Right at the American Conservative:

I’ve spent many of the last few weeks hearing from many self-described conservatives that waterboarding is not torture. Most are offended I would even suggest such a thing. Bush protected this country. Shut up, Jack.

We can all hope that my next question remains hypothetical, but given the harsh realities of war chances are it won’t. It’s also worth asking this now while this debate is still fresh:

If U.S. soldiers are captured and waterboarded by the enemy, like the soldier currently being held by the Taliban, what might we call this? Nothing? I know what we used to call it. Should Al-Quada, Taliban or other members of similar groups even be tried for it if captured? And if so, on what grounds?

Comments?

Topics: National Politics
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Bush did not protect our country. 9/11 happened during his term. He next attacked sovereign Iraq, which had no ties to al qaeda, nothing to do with 9/11 and no WDM's.
When Bush threw away the Geneva Convention of 1949, it opened the door for all of our enemies to do likewise.
It is proven that people captured will say and admit to anything if tortured.
If President Slobodan Milošević of Yugoslavia can be convicted of Geneva Conference crimes, can't the same be true for Bush & Cheney?

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Posted by Charlestonpaul on July 19, 2009 at 8:17 PM

What we are doing IS torture, and it is unfathomable to me that so many of my "Christian" brethren find it acceptable. To me it seems that when we engage in an act that dehumanizes another individual, our own humanity begins to suffer. Indeed, the "techniques" we use have a corrosive effect on all parties involved. It seems to me that this is a blind spot which many can't find their way out of.

Perhaps being indoctrinated in the era of "total war" where the ends justify the means, the torture our enemies crowd should get a pass, after all their just a product of numerous poison pills. It is a sad commentary, however, to know how far we've fallen from grace, when we consider our great forebearers sought to be gentlemen at all times, in peace and war. It had been observed on several different occasions that the venerable Bobby Lee would give water and provisions to wounded Union troops after after a bloody battle, a testament to his faith in which he was called upon to resist aggression while retaining his own dignity by loving his enemy. Today, Bobby Lee would be no doubt be mocked as an America hating liberal whose soft on our enemies. What a shame....

Thanks Mr. Hunter, I've enjoyed reading your articles and watching your video blogs for quite sometime now. Keep up the good work.

Ben
Birmingham, Alabama

PS. Maybe the Feds can waterboard some Al Qaeda members to find out what it was that they, ahem, flew into the Pentagon.

http://www.asile.org/citoyens/numero13/pen…

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Posted by beninbama on July 20, 2009 at 11:55 PM

This isn't torture. It's part of training in certain military units. Officers and Soldiers volunteer every year to attend this training. They are not all dumb hicks. Many are officers of the finest institutions, ROTC, West Point, and the like.

People make the mistake of thinking with their hearts and not with their heads.

The fact is this: it causes pain and discomfort temporarily, it does not draw blood, it leaves no physical abnormalities. Try telling the family of a slain Soldier or dismembered reporter pouring some water up a guy's nose is the same thing as a beheading on international television.

Those who's stomach's are too weak to handle the hard work need only to sit down, shut up, and color while the grownups take care of the dirty business of war.

I find the level of hypocrisy in this country astounding. Not one person, from Bill and Hill to Obama and Biden, worried about voting to give the green light and it's funny how that changes at election time.

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Posted by CPT CRL on August 19, 2009 at 11:35 PM

It most certainly IS torture, and we called it such when it was done on our POWs in Vietnam. We'd still call it torture today if the Taliban captured one of our soldiers and waterboarded them on camera. Just because it's not "as severe" as burning or beheading doesn't mean it's not torture.

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Posted by Jason Usry on August 20, 2009 at 12:45 AM
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