TPM Reader DOK …
Reading this debate gives me the same sick feeling in my stomach that I got when I read the Atlantic Monthly article that came to the same conclusion as your previous commenter: torture doesnât work, but we should do it any way and pretend we donât. Like most Americans, I used to buy into this kind of cynicism. Government secrecy is the fuel that feeds all conspiracy theories. What changed my mind was watching the people who have stood up against torture. It has not been humanitarian organizations, movie stars or bleeding heart liberals, but the military and CIA.
Like all macho Hollywood clichés that this administration has put into practice, reality has a way of not following the script. The Democrats were no where to be seen. There was no public outcry on which to ride, no Democrats making a fuss, and no media wanting to give their opposition much play, but they did it anyway. Why is it the very people our President demands have the authority to engage in torture are the only ones willing to stand up and resist these policies, even when they know their protests will fall on deaf ears?
Because there views on torture were not formed in multiplexes, but on the ground, pursuing real bad guys. Because it doesnât work. Because they know better than anybody this policy will not help us, but hurt us. It tells me that even in the back rooms, in secret, under the radar with no oversight or accountability, our government would not do what our country is now willing to embrace out in the open under President Bush.
Let us know what you think?
