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 Joe Conason: Torture Opponents Are True PatriotsPosted on Sep 20, 2006By Joe Conason Naive citizens may be surprised to learn that some of the most morally upright of our fellow Americans, at least by their own estimation, are also among the most enthusiastic endorsers of the practice of torture. Even more startling than their zeal to abuse detainees—many innocent of any offense—is their eagerness to exploit those abuses for partisan political advantage. The president has sent legislation to Capitol Hill that would “clarify” the parameters available to those who interrogate prisoners in the war on terrorism. His bill would apparently permit the use of “waterboarding,” which simulates drowning, and “long-time standing,” which is exactly what it sounds like (with shackles), as well as sleep deprivation, hypothermia and death threats. To oppose any of these methods, or so the political advertising would claim, is to jeopardize national security and coddle terrorists. That is how Republican strategists hope to make voters forget the incompetence and corruption on display in Washington, Baghdad and New Orleans. Their strategy, however, has been thwarted so far by a single simple fact: The leading opponents of torture in the Senate include three Republican veterans—John McCain of Arizona, John Warner of Virginia and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina—and perhaps as many as nine other Republicans, along with most of the Senate Democrats. They refuse to sanction interrogation techniques that obviously violate Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Voting for the Bush bill would mean, in effect, not only legalizing those forms of abuse but, even more significantly, repealing the ratification of the conventions. Clearly, Bush cannot comprehend the damage he is doing to American dignity, credibility and prestige. He has repeatedly told the world that the United States doesn’t condone torture. His public negotiations with the dissident senators over torture techniques have created one of the worst spectacles in modern political history. Advertisement  It is strange but true that the country’s most prominent spokesmen for the Prince of Peace and for tradition and morality are also its most outspoken proponents of torture. These worthies are unfazed to learn that this government is responsible for the bloody medieval abuse of innocent men, like the Canadian citizen Maher Arar, dispatched to a Syrian dungeon on baseless suspicion. The Rev. Louis Sheldon, who heads an organization called the Traditional Values Coalition, has indignantly warned Sen. McCain that opposing torture may mean forfeiting the support of evangelical leaders in 2008. What are we to make of the fact that men like the reverend, who refer to themselves as “Christian” while obnoxiously suggesting that other Christians are inferior in character, now tell us that we must support the horrific abuse of prisoners? What “traditions” and “values” do Sheldon—and, for that matter, the devout Bush—truly uphold? What kind of conservative promotes the violent abuse of people who have been convicted of no crime? It can only be the same kind of conservative who hopes to use torture as a “wedge issue” to divide the nation and win the next election. That is the express desire of the editors of The Weekly Standard and of Grover Norquist, the leading Republican lobbyist and strategist. All of them are furious at Sen. McCain, as Norquist put it, for “confusing the message.” We should hope that he and his colleagues continue to ignore the right-wing demagogues and opportunists, and instead heed the wise counsel of Lt. Gen. John Kimmons, the U.S. Army’s deputy chief of staff for intelligence, who explained the other day why torture is such a costly mistake. “I am absolutely convinced [that] no good intelligence is going to come from abusive practices. I think history tells us that. I think the empirical evidence of the last five years, hard years, tell us that,” said the general. “Moreover, any piece of intelligence which is obtained under duress, through the use of abusive techniques, would be of questionable credibility, and additionally it would do more harm than good when it inevitably became known that abusive practices were used. And we can’t afford to go there.” His words summarize the outlook of the professional officers who have been working so bravely to restore the honor of the armed forces. It is they who represent tradition, values and patriotic faith. To find out more about Joe Conason, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Previous item: Ellen Goodman: Taking 'Choice' Out of Pro-Choice Next item: Marie Cocco: Hypocrisy Among Torture Opponents Elsewhere: . CommentsAre you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig. Add Your Comment
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By Jeff Peters, September 27, 2006 at 2:30 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I would like to go on record and use my First Amendment right of free speech to say that in my opinion george w bush is a traitor to democracy and to everything sacred that the United States has stood for until the debacle of his ascendancy to the throne he constructed for himself in the Oval Office. Mr. bush must be curtailed from further destroying the credibility and honor of our great country. The only way to do that is to remove his uncontrolled absolute power of corruption, arrogance and stupidity by giving the house and the senate back to the Democrats before it is too late for us and especially our children and grandchildren.
Report thisBy morgan -lynn lamberth griggsy, September 27, 2006 at 4:56 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
As I understand, torture backfires. One obtains information diplomatically- through honey.
Report thisBy Pablasco, September 23, 2006 at 11:03 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
I wonder if they tortured curveball to get his valuable information used to get us involved in Iraq.
Report thisBy Fadel Abdallah, September 21, 2006 at 11:27 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
There are no noble cavaliers in the American political establishment in these times of fear-mongering. There are only the neo-Nazis and the hypocrite machiavellians! All of them, in one way or another, are collaborating in turning America into a brutal police state! All of them are responsible for the soon-approaching downfall of America.
The fact that there are debates and points of view on “torture” is in itself a clear sign that this nation has lost its moral compass. Torture is evil through and through and there should be no points of view on that in a civilized society. That’s why we have a devil and most notorious terrorist sitting in the White (turned black) House for six years, and it seems he is going to complete his second stolen and / or bought out term in office without a real outrage from a slumbering and morally defeated nation.
Report thisBy John Johnson, September 21, 2006 at 8:16 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
OK, I read all three essays on torture…
...doesn’t anyone else see the elephant in the room?
We don’t need torture to “defend our freedom”.
Never did… never will.
We DO need torture to control an empire.
So what’s it gonna be America? Republic or Empire?
Report thisBy MARIAM RUSSELL, September 21, 2006 at 2:51 pm #
(Unregistered commenter)
Mr Conason, I have not seen or heard anyone address the problem of who is to apply this torture once it is made legal. Are we going to have university degrees in torture…..give schlorships…..compete to get our kid in the best torture class. How do the various universities decide on who gets a scholarship…......Johnnie set puppies on fire when he was only 5, then moved to blowing up frogs at 6.
Report thisBy RB-Chicago, September 21, 2006 at 9:09 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Joe:
Good article…But,does this surprise anyone?? Zealots like “W”, Shelton, Cheney, Rove and their cronies always either try to change the subject OR push their own agenda regardless of the reality based on the facts.
If we could privately raise funds for expansion of the SuperMax facilites around the US then we could lock them all away in these facilites and simply walk away. See who gets the facts correct then!
Report thisBy LTJ, September 21, 2006 at 6:59 am #
(Unregistered commenter)
Those who cherish traditional American values and ideals should voice their opposition to legalized torture of any person. I fully support the courageous stand of Senators McCain (R-AZ), Warner (R-VA) and Graham (R-SC), against altering the USA’s long-standing committment to the Geneva Conventions. This trio wisely appreciates the unique power of the Geneva Conventions to protect our American soldiers when taken prisoner (a view shared by many American military men). The Geneva Conventions work by both promising, and then reciprocally demanding, the humane, civilized treatment of POWs. The value of such a previously agreed-upon shield cannot be overstated when our people are disarmed in enemy hands, and thus without any other means of protection.
Those who would gut these internationally cherished protections go directly against the advice of many of our senior military officers (based on multiple press reports). Perhaps the President doesn’t fully appreciate the difficulty of acheiving such nearly universal adoption of ANY restrictions on warfare among nations - much less ones so reciprocally balanced and timeless as the Geneva accords. Our world can’t even agree on an issue like Land Mines!
After WWII, the USA not only survived, but won the Cold War, mostly under the existing Geneva rules. And this was against the USSR and the Warsaw Pact (not to mention the infamous 90 miles to nuclear missiles in Cuba!) - all of these being far more powerful and resourceful enemies than Al Qaeda.
Beyond all the utilitarian arguments, humane treatment is simply the right thing to do. Let that be what the USA is known for - in place of the current emphasis “from the top” toward more and more brutality.
I would say that all detainees of any classification should be treated as human beings. And when we slap on a label other than POW, even such “illegal combatants” should be assumed innocent until fairly judged otherwise. Let us as Americans be guided back toward our traditional civic and religious lights of kindness and forgiveness.
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