Slate has an insightful article about why the US Military Lawyers are against the Bush Administration's proposal to make torture legal for the american military. It's called the Cooler Heads. One of the reasons the Military and old hands like McCain and Warner want to stick by the Geneva conventions is that it makes the rules of war clear for soldiers on the ground and it gives a soldier a legal reason to disobey an order.
Think about what we ask a soldier to do. We ask them to kill people legally. Isn't that a mind blower? A soldier needs a clear framework to do her job.
And now think, what happens to the person who is asked to hold a person's head underwater until they are breathing water? What happens to a person who is ordered to place electrodes on another human? What happens to the person who delivers the electrical jolt?
How can a government strip the moral integrity of a young serviceman by asking them to do that? And what happens when that young man comes home?
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These individuals probably enjoy this line of work, that's the most disturbing thing for me. And they do come home, they become cops, maybe the only other profession that takes pride in dehumanizing "the other". The middle east is the home of torture going back thousands of years.
Torture is now a way of life now, practiced all over the world and we (U.S. of A.) have officially joined them. Ronald R. introduced us to the "actor" president now all presidents must be actors. George W. has introduced torture as an asset in the war on terror, now all future presidents must avail themselves of this useful tool or else. . . Huzzah!
These individuals probably enjoy this line of work, that's the most disturbing thing for me. And they do come home, they become cops, maybe the only other profession that takes pride in dehumanizing "the other". The middle east is the home of torture going back thousands of years.
Torture is now a way of life now, practiced all over the world and we (U.S. of A.) have officially joined them. Ronald R. introduced us to the "actor" president now all presidents must be actors. George W. has introduced torture as an asset in the war on terror, now all future presidents must avail themselves of this useful tool or else. . . Huzzah!
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