ENHANCED PRISONER INTERROGATION, IT MAY ONLY BE GONE “TEMPORARILY”

 

…One form of EIT, “enhanced interrogation techniques”.

 

The former Republican VP appeared on “Meet the Press”, trying to sell that “Water-Boarding” is NOT torture.

It is possible that the average American is not aware that when Barack Obama became president, one of his first Executive Orders was to order that the CIA, FBI and other US Federal organizations must stop using any torture techniques for terrorist detainee interrogations.

Obviously, for supporting the basic values of this great nation, that was a very good move by the president.

Unfortunately, because it was just an Executive Order, the next president after Obama, or any future presidents can change that decision with the stroke of a pen.

Today, over 80% of the American public are against the US using torture techniques, or what we today refer to as EIT’s (enhanced interrogation techniques). But only ~30% of the American public has a problem with the current drone missile program, which President Obama has embraced and expanded. 

So, basically, it appears that the public is totally against capturing and using torture on any possible terrorist.  But apparently it’s just fine to shoot a missile from a remote controlled air drone for killing a suspected terrorist, along with any individuals that may happen to be in their immediate area.

California Senator, Dianne Feinstein, head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, had persisted in the releasing of the CIA torture document in the face of opposition from the CIA and from attacks by some of her Republican colleagues.  She did so, because she felt it was a true moral calling. 

 

The next Chairperson of the Intelligence Committee in January will be Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who was against releasing the torture document, his comment about Senator Feinstein’s decision was, “She will have to live with the consequences of releasing the document.”

The reality of all this is that the United States is a member of the Geneva Convention which is against any country using torture.  In fact, it was the US that was responsible for writing much of that which is included in parts of the Geneva documents against using any torture techniques.  It would not be that unusual if today, some of those Americans involved with actually performing the EIT’s on the terrorist prisoners were actually pursued for war crimes by the world court where these individuals could be charged with war crimes.

The fact that the George W. Bush administration happened to manipulate their Justice Department for deciding that interrogation techniques such as “Water Boarding” were NOT torture, that fact would make no difference to those within the Geneva Convention.  Water Boarding and other torture techniques were determined to be torture after WWII and that fact has not changed.

But drone war-fare is new technology and it has yet to be put under investigation as to whether it is legal or illegal.  Many of those who oppose torture are also concerned about the drone program.  I, for one, would have no objection to our US Congress investigating the ethical and practical problems this new technology raises.  But until that occurs, or is taken on by the world courts, it will obviously continue to be used against our enemies in the Middle-East.

 

…Dick “Darth Vader” Cheney

The “Darth Vader” faction of the Bush administration, i.e.: former VP, Dick Cheney, has been all over the networks lately trying to justify their past decision on EIT’s, but only a small group of Republican war-hawks are standing in support of the former VP’s views.

My issue, as I first stated, is that since stopping the use of torture is currently not a law, any future conservative president can just re-instate the Bush administrations decisions on EIT’s and we are off and running again. The US values and world reputation will again be down the sewer regarding our lack of fairness and our inhumanity.

It was heartening last week to hear the former Vietnam prisoner of war, Senator John McCain (R-AZ), speak out for the releasing of the torture report.

 

…Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

Senator McCain has many times denounced any form of torture. His biography as a prisoner of war has been a standing rejection of those who choose to play down the potential of other countries or terrorists using these techniques on our own men and women in uniform. McCain dismissed the idea that the report itself would be responsible for new attacks on Americans.  Per McCain, “Violence needs little incentive in some quarters of the world. Terrorism should be blamed on terrorists, not on Senator Feinstein.”

Defenders of the CIA’s torture actions makes us admit that after the 9/11 attack, those running the government were afraid of another attack and they then entertained the extreme interrogation techniques to protect our security. But as early as November 2001, there was already an American public debate about both the legitimacy of using torture, or even its actual effectiveness, as some brave media voices did push back in those dark times.

Those of us supporting the torture report’s release are hoping that it will re-instate the non-torture values that most Americans have held since the end of the first World War.  But with the likes of those conservatives like Dick Cheney trying to say that the EIT caused US homeland to be safe from further terrorist attacks, there is still the possibility that another “Bush” type presidency could once again bring EIT’s back in action.

My fingers are crossed hoping that is an extremely remote possibility.

Copyright G.Ater  2014