Saturday, November 05, 2005

What the h...?

IS he really that myopic?

WASHINGTON — Vice President Dick Cheney made an unusual personal appeal to Republican senators this week to allow CIA exemptions to a proposed ban on the torture of terrorism suspects in U.S. custody, according to participants in a closed-door session.

Setting aside for now the fact that torture just increase the anger towards the nation. And setting aside the fact that information gleaned from torture can be suspect (how many people in the Tower of London said exactly what the interrogator wanted to hear so that the pain might stop). And setting aside for now the fact that there is something of an international consensus on the matter. But doesn't this concept go against what we have been taught are the ideals of democracy, ideals the US claims to be uphoilding around the world?

Or are those ideals (minor little things like innocent until proven guilty, the right to a fair and expecitious trial) only for those that are deemed "worthy"? More and more I find the acts and attitudes of this Administration troubling.

3 comments:

  1. All the countries struggle with this, and have since the beginning of time. In Leviticus, there are very specific dicta on how to treat travellers, foreigners, resident aliens. In the Q'ran, Mohammed is very specific on how to treat prisoners of war.

    The existence of the dictum tells of its need. Put another way, it obviosuly doesn't go without saying...

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  2. I share your outrage Gord. This is not an internal US issue -- it has implications for anyone who believed they were protected under the Geneva Convention (past tense -- I guess international law doesn't mean much any more). It's shocking.

    Add to that the approval to drill for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, and it becomes even more inconceivable.

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  3. It never ceases to horrify me what this administration has done. I have been voting party line Democrat in the hopes that these terrible politicians will go away.

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