How Many Think Waterboarding is The M$M's Prime Focus Re Torture Since It's Conducive To Spin?

[Echo In Light]

I really haven't watched any M$M for yrs now, but have recently been watching MSNBC (Countdown, R.M.) just to see what's what with the spin

...and although I admit there are views being espoused, especially on KO, that are far from the overarching M$M tone that dominated the media landscape back when I stopped watching any of it, I've noticed that almost any mention of torture goes hand in hand with ALL its focus being strictly on waterboarding alone - replete w/that "demo" video that clearly trivializes the practice, and offers an indirect coaxing toward framing this as a matter of 'political policy' difference, versus what's already defined as illegal.

Follow? The demo video makes it appear as though it's not so bad, hence it favors the right-wing view.

Couple that with the fact that I've yet to hear/see ANY M$M focus on the long list of torture related atrocities, and one walks away wondering if the Establishment powers and their bought and paid for M$M really don't want other torture data becoming common knowledge - obviously there would be immediate and hostile outcries of "CONSPIRACY THEORY!" if the M$M began DROPPING focus on WB, and instead moved on to other, less malleable areas of abuse/murder/rape, etc

...not that WB isn't torture. But it seems as though the focus is there to distract from the other abuses that can't be spun as easily.

Your views?

[BuyingThyme]

1. And all torture discussions are tied in with terrorism, which is about .00043% right.

There weren't any terrorists in Abu Ghraib. There were only innocent people who were kidnapped and tortured by a completely inept U.S.military acting under orders of a Nazi tyrant.

[Echo In Light]

2. You're preaching to the choir w/that - I'm just wondering if others see M$M as being that obvious

[leftstreet]

3. In a way it would be more terrifying to see the M$M spinning rape

At least the waterboard apologists are fairly contained within the rightwing.

You're correct though, they're trivializing and politicizing torture.

[vi5]

4. I've been saying/thinking it for a while...

..they want to keep talking about that because it falls under the "doesn't cause physical harm" arena even though it is still clearly torture. The more we talk about only that technique the more the waters of this discussion stay murky.

[Echo In Light]

5. Precisely. It obscures other horrid abuses that very few would openly or euphemistically support

[Jane Austin]

6. I want to hear them talk about the detainee

they hanged from the ceiling and beat for days.

When he died, the autopsy said his legs were "pulpified" or beaten until they were a pulp.

His death certificate said his death was a homicide.

Our government (military?) said he died of natural causes.

[Spazito]

7. I think it is because waterboarding is recognized as torture in the law,...

there was a prosecution and conviction as recent as 1983 based on that law and if the public can be convinced that waterboarding "is not so bad" then it and all the other interrogation "techniques" can't be considered torture. They cannot win the legal argument, that is not their intent. Their intent is to win the public relations 'war' in order to get the American public to rail against any investigation/prosecution for what is, without question, criminal acts.

[liberal N proud]

8. They just don't want to talk about the more gruesome things

Because they know the public would be outraged if they knew what really happened in those torture chambers.

[Occam Bandage]

9. The focus is on waterboarding because that is where there can be the most debate,

and contention increases viewership.

[Echo In Light]

10. So, if Sy Hersh were on any of the familiar outlets talking about child sodomy videos...

...you don't think that would cause a great deal of contentious debate?

[Occam Bandage]

11. Of course not.

Everyone would express revulsion at the sick bastards who did that, and that would be that. Waterboarding, on the other hand, is not obviously torture to all (meaning some will try to defend it); more importantly, waterboarding was specifically authorized by the Bush Administration, whereas child rape was not.

[nadinbrzezinski]

12. They are using the video because they have it

they don't have video of any other of these practices

That is why they have used computer generated images of other ahem, techniques... and trust me... they are sanitized

Then there is this thing that muricans, even now, cannot handle it

We have been doing this shit for a long time, we used third parties before (see central america), but now it was the chickens coming home to roost

The video is horrific enough for the average murican...

[Echo In Light]

13. What I'm getting at is what % of the populace do you suppose is even aware of the other atrocities?

That crucial omission alone can go a long way in helping to trivialize this entire matter/policy within the public mind.

[nadinbrzezinski]

15. Most people are now aware

but that is just my opinion, why you see the policy statements shift to less shifty

[Kitty Herder]

14. I think so.

Waterboarding sounds gentle compared to other, more violent torture techniques. It's harder to make a case that some of the other methods used are not torture, so they focus on waterboarding as if it were just a little water in the face.

[Echo In Light]

16. Bump to see if any more will post (not holding my breath)