The ACLU is plain wrong in its demands that the Administration release photographs showing water boarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques” on suspected terrorists by US personnel. It adds nothing to the debate about torture and its morality, while putting the lives of US servicemen and women in serious harm. As such the ACLU is being highly irresponsible and misguided.
The United States is currently engaged in a serious debate about what constitutes torture and if it is ever justified. There are too many reasons that the United States should never torture. Yet there are also those times when the proverbial clock is ticking on an atomic explosion in Manhattan, and any method that can be used to stop it from occurring seems reasonable. This is a legitimate debate for the world’s leading democracy to engage in. It reflects a commitment to civil liberties that makes America unique, even if it has not always lived up to its ideals.
The controversy surrounding the release of photography on interrogation techniques used after 9/11, however, is not the same. This adds nothing to the debate except for to sensationalize the issue further. It is true that in a totally transparent world, the public would be able to view these pictures. But that consideration needs to be weighed against the considerable risk posed by the ensuing eruption of anger in the Islamic World. It will serve as a recruiting tool for Islamist extremists and will endanger American troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will provide for even more anti-American hysteria in countries like Pakistan, where we need local help to close down Al Qaeda and the Taliban. It will erode American moral authority which is critical for an Administration about to embark on a peace plan for Israel and the West Bank. For so many reasons, the downside hugely outweighs whatever upside the ACLU perceives there to be.
The Obama Administration is right to not release these photographs – particularly over Memorial Day weekend, as was originally planned. Nothing could be more demoralizing for America’s military and intelligence agencies. It is far better for the Administration to bear the brunt of a couple of civil liberty attacks in newspaper editorials than have American troops bear additional deadly attacks on the battlefield.
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When, really has America not “lived up to its iddeals” regarding torturing enemy combatants in time of war? Isolated events perpetrated by lone-wolf types can never be completely eradicated in this imperfect world of ours, but I submit that this is a different matter. Agreeing with everything you said as far as it goes, my problem is that this is even being debated! Before Vietnam, the public, via the “drive-by media” and politically driven groups like the ACLU had nothing to do with matters of the Military, and I personally think that’s the way it should be. When we suffer the next 9/11 event, God forbid, will those who fought for leniency in the handling of our enemies feel that in hind sight they were wrong? Or maybe they’ll still blame it on GW.
The problem is the article deals with the wrong issue. Obviously, if the water boarding and other “enhanced interrogation techniques” on suspected terrorists by US personnel had not occurred, there would be no photos. My concern is stopping the torture in the first place and one way to do that is expose it whenever it happens and take the consequences. That is a major deterrent for doing the torture at all.
Our country’s foreign and military policies are what have caused people in other lands to become terrorists. Our policies prevented them from having a legitimate recourse for expressing their grievances that came about also by our policies.
Torture is merely one more reason for them to become terrorists.
There have never been and never will be “the proverbial clock is ticking on an atomic explosion in Manhattan,” if the U.S. changes its policies relative to people and countries outside the U.S.
If we continue with our policies that turn people into terrorists, who knows what might happen. Even when torture is used, it might well be too late to make use of any information thereby gained – assuming it is accurate information anyway. And if we haven’t captured anyone at all or haven’t captured anyone having knowledge of an attack or obtained some information relative to the attack by some other source, then we will never know it is coming, and it is all for naught anyway. The points are: 1. don’t blame others for problems we have brought on ourselves! 2. address the cause of the problem rather than its symptoms.
ONLY if we change our foreign policies will we be able to prevent a nuclear attack.
If you believe the United States is innocent, just read “overthrow” by Stephen Kinzer to become knowledgeable about our past policies that have led to our current situation.
And there are many more policies that could be added to his analysis.