More Than 33% Think Torture OK
More than one-third of U.S. soldiers surveyed in Iraq said they think torture should be allowed if it helps gather important information about insurgents…..
I wonder if that goes both ways? Do you suppose they also think that insurgents should be allowed to torture them if it helps gather important information?
Four in every 10 said they approve of such illegal abuse if it would save the life of a fellow soldier.
Again, the question is, if the insurgents thought it would save the life of a fellow insurgent are these soldiers prepared to approve of that?
The problem in adopting the tactics of your enemy is that after you do so there soon ceases to be any real difference between you and them, other than, of course, which end of what gun barrel is pointed where.
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Trackposted to Outside the Beltway, Pet’s Garden Blog, The Pink Flamingo, Phastidio.net, The Magical Rose Garden, A Blog For All, and stikNstein… has no mercy, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
The tragic fact is that America has become the enemy it has been loathing since September 11, 2001.
The real question now is whether the American republic will endure or eventually fall under the rule of a Commander Imperitor …
You’re an officer in command of 30 men, trapped behind enemy lines. You have a prisoner that can lead you and your men to safety. But he won’t. Do you value the prisoner’s life more than the lives of the 30 men in your charge, or do you ensure their safety. From “Finding Forrester,” it ain’t a soup question.
If I was that officer you are asking me if I would be willing to become what I am fighting against – the answer is no, I would not.
It is not a matter of placing a higher value on the prisoners life than the lives of my men, although that is exactly the spin that would be put on it by those who either condone, or are trying so desperately to excuse, and/or justify, the human rights violations that have already taken place – it is a matter of either believing that there is a fundamentally moral difference between the two sides, or there is not.
Becoming the enemy is not defeating the enemy.
[update]
These are not western values, and they have become the enemy of western society.
If I was that officer you are asking me if I would be willing to become what I am fighting against – the answer is no, I would not.
Spoken by someone who has never been in combat, not that that’s a bad thing.
It’s easier to maintain high ideals when you’re not making life and death decisions on a daily basis.
What makes an individual who is willing to embrace and put into practice the human rights abuses of the enemy any different from the enemy?