Defining "torture" down
HT to Dr. Rusty forreporting on hos dense this idiot judge is. The WaPo story is here about her whining regarding the treatment of detainees at Gitmo:
"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.
Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.
Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani's health led to her conclusion. "The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge" to call it torture, she said. ...
"For 160 days his only contact was with the interrogators," said Crawford, who personally reviewed Qahtani's interrogation records and other military documents. "Forty-eight of 54 consecutive days of 18-to-20-hour interrogations. Standing naked in front of a female agent. Subject to strip searches. And insults to his mother and sister."
At one point he was threatened with a military working dog named Zeus, according to a military report. Qahtani "was forced to wear a woman's bra and had a thong placed on his head during the course of his interrogation" and "was told that his mother and sister were whores." With a leash tied to his chains, he was led around the room "and forced to perform a series of dog tricks," the report shows.
OK, this isn't torture. Abuse? Maybe, at least it appears to be abuse. But to call this torture is just insane. Dr. Rusty points out that this is prettymuch what he went through in college hazing rituals. Are they going to start arresting college frat guys for what they put new pledges through now? I mean, come on already. There are perverts in Congress that would pay good money to be treated this way.
On a serious note, I'll grant her the abuse factor, and the interrogators should be prosecuted for that abuse. But to refer to this as "torture" is just nuts. Torture is what John McCain went through in the Hanoi Hilton. Torture is what SEALs, Rangers, Delta, and Marine Force Recon are instructed on to better resist it. And if I may be so bold, torture is what the victims of 11 September endured in the Twin Towers. Please, allow me to quote Drew M. at AoSHQ on this subject (language censored for, well, obvious reasons):
My 'Give 'O Sh*t' meter doesn't even budge on this one, never has, never will.
You want torture? I'll give you f*cking torture. How about this...you are at work and suddenly there is a tremendous crash and fire. After huddling with your co-workers you realize you are 80 stories up and cut off from rescue by an out of control fire below you. The heat is becoming so intense that you can't stand it much longer. So you you try and call your loved ones and if you're lucky you get through. Maybe you get to say goodbye to them directly or you leave leave a voice mail that will haunt them forever. Then you break a window, hang hundreds of feet above the ground and let go.
That's torture.
We're right there with Drew. Poor little terrorist was stripped naked, had women's underwear put on his head, and was verbally berated. Boo-frelling-hoo. Someone get this moronic judge a documentary on what torture really is so she can actually be educated on this matter. We're fighting animals, lady. A little embarrassment isn't going to hurt this guy.
Publius II
"We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution.
Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured.
Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani's health led to her conclusion. "The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge" to call it torture, she said. ...
"For 160 days his only contact was with the interrogators," said Crawford, who personally reviewed Qahtani's interrogation records and other military documents. "Forty-eight of 54 consecutive days of 18-to-20-hour interrogations. Standing naked in front of a female agent. Subject to strip searches. And insults to his mother and sister."
At one point he was threatened with a military working dog named Zeus, according to a military report. Qahtani "was forced to wear a woman's bra and had a thong placed on his head during the course of his interrogation" and "was told that his mother and sister were whores." With a leash tied to his chains, he was led around the room "and forced to perform a series of dog tricks," the report shows.
OK, this isn't torture. Abuse? Maybe, at least it appears to be abuse. But to call this torture is just insane. Dr. Rusty points out that this is prettymuch what he went through in college hazing rituals. Are they going to start arresting college frat guys for what they put new pledges through now? I mean, come on already. There are perverts in Congress that would pay good money to be treated this way.
On a serious note, I'll grant her the abuse factor, and the interrogators should be prosecuted for that abuse. But to refer to this as "torture" is just nuts. Torture is what John McCain went through in the Hanoi Hilton. Torture is what SEALs, Rangers, Delta, and Marine Force Recon are instructed on to better resist it. And if I may be so bold, torture is what the victims of 11 September endured in the Twin Towers. Please, allow me to quote Drew M. at AoSHQ on this subject (language censored for, well, obvious reasons):
My 'Give 'O Sh*t' meter doesn't even budge on this one, never has, never will.
You want torture? I'll give you f*cking torture. How about this...you are at work and suddenly there is a tremendous crash and fire. After huddling with your co-workers you realize you are 80 stories up and cut off from rescue by an out of control fire below you. The heat is becoming so intense that you can't stand it much longer. So you you try and call your loved ones and if you're lucky you get through. Maybe you get to say goodbye to them directly or you leave leave a voice mail that will haunt them forever. Then you break a window, hang hundreds of feet above the ground and let go.
That's torture.
We're right there with Drew. Poor little terrorist was stripped naked, had women's underwear put on his head, and was verbally berated. Boo-frelling-hoo. Someone get this moronic judge a documentary on what torture really is so she can actually be educated on this matter. We're fighting animals, lady. A little embarrassment isn't going to hurt this guy.
Publius II
posted by Syd And Vaughn | 10:11 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
<< Home