Thursday, November 03, 2005
CIA Prisons
Ummm, did the world really think these "secret" prisons didn't exist? Did they think that someone who believes so strongly in their fight would just open themselves up to interrogations when captured? When the DHS issues a "credible" terror warning against a specific target and backs it up by saying they intercepted more than the usual "chatter" while monitoring terrorist communications, I think what they meant to say was that after hitting a suspect repeatedly in the head with The Yellow Pages, he or she fessed up to something. I do not condone torture to get information out of suspects but I believe this happens on a daily basis. It's been going on for years, in different countries all over the world, used by many governments, denied by all.
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4 comments:
Being an American, I had *hoped* such prisons didn't exist, yes. Call me crazy, but I bought into that whole "our country is a shiney example to all", that we were better than two-bit dictator thugs in some South American country who believed any means justified their ends.
I don't know; I just assumed that we took the Constitution specifically and general international human rights in general seriously. I didn't want to believe that our government would sanction prisons that would not only be illegal in *this* country, but are also illegal in the democratic countries that they're rumored to be in.
It's not just the Geneva Convention; even those not subject to the Geneva Conventions are *still* to be treated with internationally accepted standards of humanity. And moreover, the Geneva Conventions specifically state that a country cannot simply label someone as an "enemy combatent and thus not subject to the Conventions"... it says that a tribunal of third parties must make that determination.
I know you're not condoning these off-site torture chambers, but I'm still surprised at your lack of surprise at their existance.
I agree with you wholeheartedly. I think people in general want to believe that these types of things aren't occurring. But in our current situation, I think extreme circumstances require extreme measures.
Like seriously, what person didn't think this was going on?
It's the american way...
I wouldn't go so far as to say "it's the American way", because it's not. I think the U.S. is in a catch-22 where we say torture is bad, but then how do we protect Americans from an enemy that doesn't follow traditional rules of engagement? These are difficult times for all of us.
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