The American Way of Torture [View all]
The American Way of Torture
From an article in The Nation, Jan. 5, 2015 (please support The Nation and other progressive publications)
The report on the brutalities of the CIA’s secret prisons is the most important work by the Senate Intelligence Committee since congressional oversight of the CIA began in the 1970s. Its descriptions of torture and deception are as compelling as the newsreels of the Nuremberg trials.
The CIA’s codes of conduct before 9/11 clearly stated, “Inhumane physical or psychological techniques are counterproductive because they do not produce intelligence and will probably result in false answers.”
So what happened after 9/11? Why did the CIA decide to torture when they knew it didn't work to provide meaningful intelligence?
My answer is that torture is performed for more than just getting intelligence. In this case it was important for the President and those that helped him, to get some kind of justification for invading Iraq. The poor bastards getting tortured were probably willing to say anything to stop the torture but they couldn't tell where the WMD's were BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T ANY.
Another reason is that sometimes leaders are psychopaths. I wouldn't be surprised that played a role in this case. Not mentioning any names but a nickname of "Little Dick" keeps coming to mind.
And one more reason to torture is what all tyrants know well, terrorism. Scare the crap out of the people, the enemy, everyone.
So who is in charge? The president or the CIA? Great question. Congress is obviously out to lunch (with a lobbyist or six).
Really where was Congress? Granted they were lied to, but...
False answers were what Congress got from Bush’s CIA directors and their underlings. They delivered deceptive testimony and destroyed videotapes of torture. Brennan had to reprimand five officers for cybersnooping on the Senate’s files. The intelligence committees cannot function if the CIA lies to them and spies on them.
These are good excuses but why did Congress sit back and let it happen? Seriously, why?
My take is that we no longer have Congress-Critters that truly represent the People.
And we don't have a president that will stand up and, at a minimum, reprimand the torturers.
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