Columnist short-circuits on torture definition and its use
Thomas Brennan
Issue date: 2/11/05 Section: Ed-Op
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IF THE SUPPOSED liberal media exists and does in fact spend all of its energy slanting the news towards sacrificing the truth in favor of promoting a left-wing ideology, then the title Mr. Mack has chosen for his weekly commentaries, "Balancing out the Bias" is an appropriate one. Each week, Mr. Mack fires back, denying truth in favor of his own beliefs and ideals.
His most recent commentary ("Aggressive interrogation of terrorists necessary for safety", The Triangle, Feb. 4, 2005, p.13) goes further than even I thought Mr. Mack ever would, defending and seemingly encouraging the abusive and immoral behavior some of our servicemen and women have perpetrated in the "War on Terror."
It has been nearly four years since 9/11, and not a day goes by that we do not hear politicians, media pundits and other brain dead hacks hijack the events of that day to fuel their own agendas. No issue, however, angers me as much as those who would use that day to justify some of the unabashed cruelty we have seen since the conflict began. This issue has not merely popped up in the wake of the Abu Gharib prison scandal; when we first began using Guantanamo Bay as a prison for those we captured in Afghanistan, we saw one of the few times the Democratic Party would not cower before the Bush Administration.
By questioning and debating, those in Senate and Congress were accused of committing one of the Bush administrations now favorite expressions, "giving aide and comfort to the enemy." And yet while we bash debate in our own country, we purport to be spreading those same freedoms to the Middle East. How can we truly expect to win the hearts and minds of those who oppose our presence if we behave so hypocritically? How can we justify calling their treatment of their people inhumane when we torture prisoners for information they most likely don't have?
Mr. Mack references the outrage Americans felt when one of our servicemen shot a wounded Iraqi insurgent as he lay on the ground. Mr. Mack casually refers to this event, saying "Yes, it doesn't sound good that we shot a wounded man." It's not that it doesn't sound good, it is not good. Yes, that serviceman may have felt it was something he had to do. It may have even been a total necessity. But it's still wrong, and no amount of flag waving will change that. America isn't supposed to be about that kind of behavior.
His most recent commentary ("Aggressive interrogation of terrorists necessary for safety", The Triangle, Feb. 4, 2005, p.13) goes further than even I thought Mr. Mack ever would, defending and seemingly encouraging the abusive and immoral behavior some of our servicemen and women have perpetrated in the "War on Terror."
It has been nearly four years since 9/11, and not a day goes by that we do not hear politicians, media pundits and other brain dead hacks hijack the events of that day to fuel their own agendas. No issue, however, angers me as much as those who would use that day to justify some of the unabashed cruelty we have seen since the conflict began. This issue has not merely popped up in the wake of the Abu Gharib prison scandal; when we first began using Guantanamo Bay as a prison for those we captured in Afghanistan, we saw one of the few times the Democratic Party would not cower before the Bush Administration.
By questioning and debating, those in Senate and Congress were accused of committing one of the Bush administrations now favorite expressions, "giving aide and comfort to the enemy." And yet while we bash debate in our own country, we purport to be spreading those same freedoms to the Middle East. How can we truly expect to win the hearts and minds of those who oppose our presence if we behave so hypocritically? How can we justify calling their treatment of their people inhumane when we torture prisoners for information they most likely don't have?
Mr. Mack references the outrage Americans felt when one of our servicemen shot a wounded Iraqi insurgent as he lay on the ground. Mr. Mack casually refers to this event, saying "Yes, it doesn't sound good that we shot a wounded man." It's not that it doesn't sound good, it is not good. Yes, that serviceman may have felt it was something he had to do. It may have even been a total necessity. But it's still wrong, and no amount of flag waving will change that. America isn't supposed to be about that kind of behavior.
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