Saturday, October 13, 2007

Republicans support torture

They quibble that they are interrogating individuals and trying to get extremely important Intelligence from them, but every Intelligence professional who has recently spoken publicly on the subject has agreed - torture doesn't work. Individuals subject to torture generally lie or give information they don't really have.

Waterboarding is torture. So is subjecting subjects to low temperatures for long periods of time, or (as was done to Jose Padilla and to many Guantanamo detainees) subjecting them to long periods of isolation. None of these things are effective substitutes for effective and well-planned interrogation regimes, and none of the methods of interrogation work rapidly even when they do work.

So why do conservatives demand that the use of torture techniques be approved by the Congress?

It's the same reason why parents hit children. The parents give the excuse that they are trying to stop the child from doing something, but the fact is that the parents are feeling angry or frustrated and want to punish the child for inflicting those emotions on them.

Torturing those who are declared enemies is exactly the same thing. It is a way for an angry person to punish his enemies. That's the basis for approval and recommendation of torture by those who do not actually do it themselves.

The individuals who then are interrogating the subjects without result and who are being pressured by their commanders for fast results will, if not well trained, try anything to relieve their own feelings of failure and inadequacy as their leaders try to force them to produce rapid results.

In short, the Republicans at high levels approve of torture because it matches the anger they constantly feel when they are opposed by anyone.

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