Can you imagine a person actually saying that. Standing up and publicly saying THAT? Well, I think we need to force the issue. I think we need to FORCE the waterboarding apologists say that.
We need to change the debate. Right now it seems to be, at least to a large extent, whether or not the following statement is correct:
"Waterboarding works so it's sometimes justified."
I know there’s lots of evidence that it does NOT work, but let’s forget about that for now. Let’s just say that the pro-torture people -- excuse me, I mean the pro-enhanced interrogations techniques people -- are right. Let’s just say that, on some occasions at least, torture "works". It can extract info that’s true, accurate, and useful. In fact, let’s go with the "Ticking Time Bomb" scenario. We’ve got our hands on some guy who we know has info about an imminent attack. We need that info. He doesn’t voluntarily give it up. So that leaves us with... "enhanced interrogations techniques".
But assuming this scenario (or any other one you might dream up), why should we "tie our hands", as the defenders say? Why stop with waterboarding, or with slapping around a little, or with locking in a box with bugs, or any of these other cutesy little Kindergarten types of torture?
I say we do it RIGHT! Let’s go totally medieval on ‘em!
(If you don't have time to read the whole diary, just check out the two lines at the very end.)
Beating – Pretty much your basic tough guy technique. Of course we already use slapping, but using fists could be much more affective.
Whipping – Anywhere from mild stuff you can get down at your local S&M shop, to hardcore flays with metal hooks, etc.
Boiling alive – Have to be careful with this one. Its original intent was to go all the way to death, but of course we’ll wanna stop before it reaches that point.
Buried alive – Several nice possibilities here. Just stick ‘em in the ground up to their necks, and let ‘em slowly starve (pulling them out before they actually die, of course); or maybe underneath a broiling sun; or in an area you know is frequented by our little ant friends; etc; etc.
Burned at the stake – This one could be difficult, since its intent is to kill. But I’m sure our use of on-site doctors could keep the guy alive and conscious long enough to have the desired effect.
Skinning alive – Hmmm... we might have trouble finding a "technician" who can stomach this, but I’m sure there’s at least a few out there who’d be willing to do their patriotic duty.
Drawing & Quartering – Usually done by using some device to pull off arms and legs one by one, and slicing the prisoner’s chest and stomach open. Probably won’t be able to use this one, since we probably couldn’t keep the person alive (or at least coherent) long enough to get any info. Still though, it’s fun to think about.
Impaling – Vlad’s favorite. I saw a documentary recently that proved that this could be done in such a way that no vital organs are severely damaged, and so the only problem is keeping the person conscious. I’m sure that could be worked out.
Burning/branding with irons – Pretty simple, and lots of options with this one.
The Iron Maiden – Some of these were made with spikes that would slowly kill as it was closed up. Others were made with spikes that would avoid any vital areas. Of course that latter type is what we’d want.
The Pendulum – I’m kinda partial to this one, being a big E.A.Poe fan and all.
The Wheel – I wasn’t real familiar with this, but here’s a description: "A person could somehow be attached to the other rim of a wheel and then either rolled over sharp spikes, off a hill, or into a lake." Interesting. Might work, might work...
Crucifixion – I doubt we could use this. Would just be kinda, I don’t know, kinda blasphemous.
Drowning – Ok, "near" drowning. I like to think of this as "double-enhanced" interrogation. Like waterboarding without the board. Just get a nice big bucket full of water, and dunk away. Think the scene in "A Clockwork Orange" when Alex meets up with his former droogies after getting out of prison.
Cannon – Strap the prisoner across the mouth of a cannon, and fire it. Hmmm... sorry, I misread this one, this was mainly a form of execution. Not much good for torture. Oh well, it’s still really cool.
Pressing – Just lay the guy on a table (a STRONG table), and start piling weights on him, little by little.
The Rack – Ah, maybe the classic of classics. No description needed.
Torture by insects or animals – Many variations. But all involve encouraging said insects or animals to sting, bite, eat the victim... slowly. But I personally think this is one torture technique that should be banned, period. Did we ask the bugs or animals whether they wanted to be involved? NO! So this one just wouldn’t be right.
Spanish Donkey – Another one I wasn’t familiar with. "The person sat astride a V-shaped structure as if on a horse or donkey. Weights are increasingly attached to the person’s feet, pulled increasingly downward, until the person is split in two."
Starving – Maybe the simplest method of all... and quite cost-effective. Worth considering. But then again, this one might take longer than we can afford to wait.
(Some of this is from http://www.geocities.com/...
There are lots more. I’ve just given a small taste of what’s out there. I’ve pretty much left out methods which involve psychological rather than physical suffering. When it comes to torture, the possibilities are virtually endless.
But why stop with just the detainee, or, I mean the suspect... ah, let’s just call him the "terrorist" to make everyone happy? Why just stop with him? Huh? If torture sometimes works against the info-carrier himself, how much BETTER will it work if we take it to the next level? Let’s go after the guy’s friends! No, let’s go after his family... after his KIDS!
Yeah, let’s DO THIS THING! If we can’t get the info any other way, let’s torture the detainee’s kids! Let’s do it right in front of him!
"You see that? See what we just did to your kid? Oh, the poor thing is screaming in agony. How sad. It’s up to you... you wanna tell us what you know or not?"
[End Colbertesque routine]
To any of you waterboarding apologists out there, I do NOT wanna hear you whining about my preceding suggestions. It WORKS, remember?! It can save lives! It’s JUSTIFIED!
So. You all need to either go all in, or... ADMIT YOU’RE WRONG!
A lot has been made about a new Washington Post poll, which found that there was about a 50/50 split on the question of whether torture could sometimes be justified. "... do you think there are cases in which the United States should consider torture against terrorism suspects?" It's disappointing that nearly half the people responding to the poll are actually willing to use torture if it's "necessary". But even worse is that that number has increased over the past three months. A similar poll in January showed only 40% supported using torture, while 58% opposed.
Why the change?
In my opinion it's because of the backlash from the release of the torture memos which started this recent re-awakening of our national conscience. Once torture got back into the news, the Busheep knew they had to come up with some way to counter it. So it seems they've decided the best way to do that is to claim "torture works", and "torture is sometimes justified." The "ticking timebomb scenario" has made a comeback over the past week or so.
Which is just one reason I think it's VERY important that we hit them with the point I've tried to make in this diary. Force them to publicly admit that if some kind of torture is justified under some circumstances, then ANY kind of torture might also be justified. NOTHING is out-of-bounds...
"It's unfortunate, but there might come a time when we have to torture a little boy or girl in front of their parents."
MAKE THE WATERBOARDING APOLOGISTS SAY THOSE WORDS!