I doubt it will make a difference in the grand scheme of things, but I can't stand idly by and watch this happen...
SIR/MA'AM:
If the Senate confirms Michael Mukasey, and effectively gives the green light to the enablers of torture (yes, waterboarding is torture), then what did the American people vote for exactly when they put the Democrats in control of Congress?
I know I didn't vote for the enablers of torture.
Please do the right thing. Very best regards, Oregon Guy
This issue strikes home for me. I wear a uniform to work.
As I read about this crap, one thing that really jumped out at me is the fact that Administration officials have conceded that if Syria or Iran or whoever waterboards US service members then, well, that'd be really bad but it wouldn't be torture.
AND YOU BASTARDS EXPECT ME TO STAND UP TO MY CAPTORS AND LIVE UP TO THE CODE OF CONDUCT IF I AM CAPTURED?
SCREW YOU!
This is such a violation of the trust I thought the US had with its Soldiers, Sailors, Marines, and Airmen I am literally apoplectic. I have been through some SERE training. I know what these things feel like (no, I've never been waterboarded). Even what I have been through is, um, unpleasant. And that was in a nice, secure training environment.
Ever been arrested? Ever been arrested by a cop in a foreign country? Even a friendly one, like Spain or Germany? I was stopped by the cops in the subway in Germany once, and the fear instilled just by being barked questions in a foreign language, not knowing your own rights, not being certain if they had anything like your best interests at heart or something, anything resembling justice and the rule of law, so on and so forth. And this was in Germany, one of our closest allies and a nation which closely resembles the US in many ways.
Except, of course, they quit torturing people in 1945 or so.
So now, I am, in the parlance of our times, "fair game."
I guess I always was, but its nice that its so clear to see.
This is something which should enrage every American who believes in decent human values and understands that torture does not make us safer, it only puts our people at risk.