tmedlin: blog 
tmedlin's blog
house hearing on "torture"
Published Jul. 17, 2008
I have been watching the House committee hearing on detainee treatment and it is absoutely infuriating!
Rep. Trent Franks noted that this congress's job is to protect Americans and in the 10 hearings that have taken place, not one of the meetings was held to protect Americans, but to only protect terrorists/detainees.
The members of congress and they way they are framing their questions will make you mad enough to scream. In their typical law school parlor game style, they ask questions, refuse to allow detailed answers, in order to get a "yes" or "no" to a question that they want on the record.
For example:
Qestion: Have detainees been tortured or murdered?
Answer: yes, but those who committed those acts have been tried and prosecuted and were not sanctioned by the Justice Dept. or President, or Secty of Defense.
Congressman (interrupting the witness): I didn't ask that, all I want is a "yes" or "no" answer...
An important comment made by a member of congess, was, that organizations like Human Rights (testifying in this hearing) will state "The United States tortures prisoners." A prisoner held in Maryland was recently killed. According to the way Human Rights reports events, they would report THAT event by stating "Maryland kills prisoners".
Now, that is what the main stream media picks up on, in order to slander and discredit not only the president, but Defense Dept., Justice Dept. and the military, in general.
There was an incedible amount of information contained in this hearing, including discussions about poking a finger in a detainee's chest, yelling at a detainee, playing "good cop/bad cop" as methods that "international organizations" would consider torture...
If you have time, go to the c-span website, and at the bottom of the page is a section of recent videos. Go to the detainee hearings and see it for yourself.
It will show you EXACTLY what the problem is with this congress. If you have ANY doubt as to why this country is having the problems it is, it will become crystal clear. The opening comments by the chairman and those testifying can be ignored...But go to the parts where they are actually questioning the panel. Believe me, even though it's long, let the video start running in the background...about 15 minutes in, you will be shocked at what you see. This whole country should see this 3 ring circus, where congress tries to play "gotcha", tries to distort what people in this country are doing to protect us.
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GOLO member since February 28, 2008
July 18, 2008 12:01 a.m.
Would that include torture? Just like getting information from people captured on the battlefield is important, it can be equally important to get information out of people involved in domestic crime cases. Should U.S. police also be allowed to "get the information ANY way they can without fear of reprisal"?
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 17, 2008 10:15 p.m.
GOLO member since July 4, 2008
July 17, 2008 3:22 p.m.
GOLO member since February 28, 2008
July 17, 2008 3:15 p.m.
Interrogators mission is to obtain information. I dare say there are precious few interrogators out there whose primary mission is to inflict suffering on the enemy.
The bottom line is: We are at war and there IS an enemy who wants to destroy us. We had BETTER fight to win, whatever form that takes because there is NOTHING civilized about war.
GOLO member since February 28, 2008
July 17, 2008 3:11 p.m.
Who's to say that your "opinion" or "judgment" that you KNOW which is reality and which is politics? How come you know and others don't? That's like saying, "let's compromise. do it MY way."
It amazes me sometimes just how simplistically interchangeable these arguements become---you could substitute "left-wing, Commie, ACLU-perverted tree-hugging Liberal" with "right-wing, Facist neo-con Conservative" in most of these posts, and the rest could be the same, and everyone would be satisfied, because things are so polarized and reactionary.
Ladies and gentelmen, that is not the "common ground" we seek. Until we find a way to embrace common ideals and goals, nothing will be accomplished. Washington is the worst example. We must make it work for us again--not just the "leaders."
GOLO member since July 10, 2007
July 17, 2008 3:00 p.m.
GOLO member since July 18, 2008
July 17, 2008 2:07 p.m.
I've just about given up on the politicians in D.C., both Dems and Reps. The current C-SPAN circus is just a call for attention, but that doesn't mean the question of torture or no torture is not important.
I believe that torture doesn't give reliable intelligence, and I'm not the only one to believe so. Wouldn't it be great if you could strap a terrorist suspect to a chair and zap his genitals with electricity a few times and he would only tell you the truth afterward? Unfortunately that's not the way it works, at least according to interrogation experts.
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 17, 2008 2:04 p.m.
The problem is that intelligence gained under torture may lead troops in the wrong direction, lead troops away from missions where there is a true need, or in worst case into further danger. People will say just about anything to get torture to stop, so I don't see how torture-acquired intelligence would be any better than intelligence acquired through traditional interrogation methods like sleep deprivation and good cop - bad cop. There seemss to be a belief that torturing a person will make him tell all the truths he know, but as the fifteen interrogation experts referenced above attests to, that is not the case.
GOLO member since October 12, 2007
July 17, 2008 1:57 p.m.
GOLO member since July 18, 2008
July 17, 2008 1:36 p.m.
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