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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Broken_Clock who wrote (271736)	12/3/2009 8:32:20 PM
From: Hawkmoon	Respond to of 281500

He was caught red handed(literally) and I favor the death penalty. So do I, upon official conviction, preferably before a military tribunal as an illegal combatant (spy, saboteur). What i am against is torturing people until they confess. Something you seem to espouse. I guess it all depends on how you define "torture". Have you ever spanked your children for being bad? Did you use a switch, or a belt? Do you leave a bruise or other red mark? Some people would define that as torture. I can only think of a relatively few instances where I would be in favor of "harsh interrogation" (physical violence). And those instances would be where we felt that the detainee being questioned possessed knowledge so critical that it could save the lives of either our soldiers, or innocent victims (like a plan to bomb a marketplace). I've always compared my views on "torture" to the following scenario. If one of my family members was kidnapped before my eyes and I managed to capture one of the assailants, I can guarantee that "harsh interrogation" techniques would be utilized by me on an immediate basis in order to discern the location of where his/her friends are heading with my loved one. I'll be damned if I sit around and wait for some cop to given them their Miranda rights when the life of my family member is at risk. And in such a case, I guess Ed is right. Survival (and love) IS a more powerful force than entitlement. Tell me that you would act differently (wait for the cops and not take matters into your own hands). And there's the case of Ltc West: en.wikipedia.org They allege that he didn't obtain any useful information off of the Iraqi spy, but the scoop I heard was that some Macedonian SpecOps guys took that information and went off and collected a bagful of ears from this Spy's buddies (probably a bit of hyberbole, but wouldn't put it past those guys). This is contrary to the Army CID's "official findings", but I heard it from some folks whom I believe had the proper "access" to such information. And it was my understanding that LTC West was correct in suspecting this Iraqi of collecting information on his troops dispositions. But torture for the sake of torture? That's appalling and morally sadistic. So PLEASE, let's not mis-characterize my views on "harsh interrogation". Especially when most such methods fall far short of the beatings many American parents (including mine at one point) inflict upon their children. Hell.. don't ever wash your kid's naughty mouth's out with soap.. You'll be accused of "water boarding". Hawk