alternative hippopotamus

progressive cyberdadaism from our nation’s capital

July 29, 2005

Waterboarding for Dummies

by kim @ 10:18 am. Filed under Uncategorized

At TPMCafe Anne-Marie Slaughter describes how our outrage has dulled over the systematic abuse of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The article is partly a response to a post I’d written about the Club Gitmo Republicans, a movement inspired by Rush “Fraternity Prank” Limbaugh.

The response in comments is instructive. Given the opportunity to repudiate the Club Gitmoers, the wingers instead choose the “torture saves lives” tack:

She wrings her hands and frets about possible torture and abuse at Gitmo, but never once makes any effort to put these interrogation techniques back into any sort of rational, historical context.

The US military is trying to squeeze information out of prisoners. OK, but why? Are our soldiers a bunch of busybodies and gossips with an abnormal curiosity about life in the Middle East? Are they hoping to titillate themselves with crazy tales about sexual action in the desert? Are they sadists and perverts? Or are they trying to learn things that might make our military actions in the Middle East and elsewhere more effective?

Are they trying, in other words, to save lives?

Support the troops! September 11 changed everything! Saddam, mushroom cloud, etc!

I suspect that those who argue in this vein aren’t aware that Senator Graham, red-blooded America-loving he-man Republican, read memos from JAGs into the congressional record:

The issue of detention is especially important to Sen. Graham because he is a reserve officer in the Air Force’s Judge Advocate General corps. JAG officers have been vocal opponents of the changes in detention rules, but mostly in private. This month, Sen. Graham took those objections public, adding to the Congressional Record memos from JAGs to their service chiefs that the administration’s policies were not on solid legal ground. A Marine JAG officer raised the specter that military personnel could be charged with crimes in other countries for following the administration’s policies on interrogation.

So, Freeperati, ya think the Marines hate America?

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