Justifying torture brings shame to U.S. - Toronto Star

[grackle]

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1086819009742&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795

This editorial is currently the 3rd headline under US at google news.

"The news that serving U.S. officials have officially endorsed principles once advanced by Augusto Pinochet brings shame on American democracy — even if it is true, as the administration maintains, that its theories have not been put into practice. Even on paper, the administration's reasoning will provide a ready excuse for dictators, especially those allied with the Bush administration, to go on torturing and killing detainees."

"Before the Bush administration took office, the army's interrogation procedures — which were unclassified — established this simple and sensible test: No technique should be used that, if used by an enemy on an American, would be regarded as a violation of U.S. or international law. Now, imagine that a hostile government were to force an American to take drugs or endure severe mental stress that fell just short of producing irreversible damage; or pain a little milder than that of "organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death."

What if the foreign interrogator of an American "knows that severe pain will result from his actions" but proceeds because causing such pain is not his main objective?

What if a foreign leader were to decide that the torture of an American was needed to protect his country's security? Would Americans regard that as acceptable?

According to the Bush administration, they should."

On Edit: Sorry, i forgot the link - it's been a while since i posted.

[KC]

1. Link?

nt

[The Backlash Cometh]

2. The Republicans have lost their moral compass so now we have to

wait for other countries to state the obvious. Justifying torture does bring shame to the U.S.

[tom_paine]

3. Except the "U.S." no longer exists

Imerial Amerika, which exists now and not in some nebulous past, is a budding Totalitarian, Orwellian and eventually a Torture State, and this was merely the beginning.

Future generations won't even express outrage at shit like this (pun intended), and the Nationalized Neighborhood Watch along with their hessian "intelligence controllers" will likely be doing what they are doing to the Iraqis now to Amerikan Imperial Subjects they deem enemies of the State.

You don't even want to know what shit we'll be doing to foreigners by then.

[LSatyl]

4. Actually,

as it says at the bottom of the Toronto Star editorial, it "is an edited excerpt of an editorial from the Washington Post."

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. Good catch.

Thanks LSatyl.

[salin]

6. That much more significant... showing up as an editorial in WaPo.

Sad that the folks on the Hill and in the Admin need this reminder.