Why We Need to Torture

[Jackpine Radical]

A lot of liberal wimps just don’t seem to understand why President Bush needs the right to torture his enemies and try them on the basis of evidence they are not allowed to see.

No, it’s not to protect us from terrorism.

Torture has no value in getting accurate information from people. Thousands of people were tortured into false confessions of witchcraft and the like during the Middle Ages. In fact, most people will tell you whatever they think you want to hear so you will stop torturing them.

Furthermore, hese measures will of course not deter the people who hate us. In fact, our torture policy is already proving wonderfully effective in driving terrorist recruitment—and that’s the point. President Bush has found war and the threat of terrorism to be extremely useful tools for staying in power and enriching loyal Americans like the folks at Halliburton, Dick Cheney’s old company. You can’t fight a war without enemies. Fortunately, the practice of randomly torturing people around the world is a really god way to maintain an ever-increasing supply of people who hate us.

Another wonderful feature of torture is that people will think twice about publicly protesting you or your policies if they think you might pull their fingernails for it. Remember, under the current rules, the President gets to decide who is a terrorist. So far, environmentalists and Quakers have been labeled terrorists. The Administration has already told us the Democrats are aiding and abetting our enemies, so I suppose they’re fair game now. Next will probably be ACLU, the Unitarians, and—if necessary—the moderate wing of the Republican Party.

[joemurphy]

1. Exactly! But you didn't mention all that extremely credible and

reliable information we get from tortured terrorists -- like that good stuff we got from guys like "Curveball" -- about secret nuclear programs, WMDs, and the threat to our civilization that all those turbaned Islamic radicals pose.
Why, without torture, your sons and daughters might be bowing to Mecca and have names like Ali and Fatima. Torture away, O noble protectors of our way of life. We're with ya!

[Jackpine Radical]

2. Thanks--I meant to put something in about that, and have now done so.

See the new second para. Again, thanks.

[Jackpine Radical]

3. Thanks--I meant to put something in about that, and have now done so.

See the new second para. Again, thanks.

[sweetheart]

4. as well, torture makes everyone loyal in the crime

Now that the government stands for torture, and everyone who works for the government is
part of state torture inc, then if anyone speaks up, they'll be indicting themselves.
The peer pressure they say gets people to take drugs is a myth, but that same pressure
is exactly what torture is about, the consensus of abuse, that what we stand for is
a cutlure of abuse, that will not conscience the withholding of abuse from anyone.

[Gregorian]

5. And the drug war wasn't about drugs.

It was about filling jails and enriching contractors who do the peripherals.

Same story.

I was wondering as I read your post, what happens to torture when King George leaves office. I also wondered when the drug war would be disbanded. I think the short answer is- never.

But maybe life will get so rough, due to any number of pending things, that people will have to put their glasses back on and see clearly just what being human is all about.

[OwnedByFerrets]

6. Well written and thought out.......

remember, however, this is NOT law yet. We must do everything in our power to not allow torture in our name.

[Jackpine Radical]

7. Torture is already happening in our name.

Now they are seeking to legitimize it, or at least to enlarge the gang of culprits, and to buy themselves some immunity.

[OwnedByFerrets]

8. And we must do what we can to NOT let it be

made into law. And dont forget that a huge part of this is that they want it legalized retroactively. This is just another attempt to keep them all out of jail.

[Jackpine Radical]

9. Writing this thing,

which I will send in to the local paper as an LTTE, is my small contribution to the fight. And I'm not forgetting about the ex post facto component, although I didn't specifically address it here. Sometimes LTTE are more effective if you leave out the proverbial kitchen sink.