Jackie Bueno Sousa, the new conservative Miami Herald Columnist, said about U.S. torture methods:
"At most, it's Torture Lite or Torture 1.0 -- if it's torture at all."
She then lists worse things that have been done in the U.S. in an effort to further minimize our government's torture of prisoners.
I love this part:
"What's more, strict limits were followed regarding the duration of a session and the combination of interrogation methods. For example, waterboarding could not be combined with abdominal slaps."
Well, Yippee!
9 comments:
The Miami Herald column is the typical false spin of an ugly policy that goes against US and International law. There have been numerous members of the US military, FBI, and CIA who oppose the tactics and argue that it does not obtain usable intelligence information. Being subjected to waterboarding 150+ times in a month is not 'light'. Apologists for wrong and illegal national practices should not be on the front page of the local section, but on the OP Ed page.
Her scribblings are too inane to really break down. She has no historical background -- obviously -- with these types of memos, which have been the currency of numerous regimes over time that attempt to justify dubious actions with a paper-thin patina of legal legitimacy.
I hate to say this, but she may be worse than Garvin.
Jason Leopold | Reagan's DOJ Prosecuted Waterboarding Case
http://www.truthout.org/042709J
Jason Leopold, Truthout: "George W. Bush's Justice Department said subjecting a person to the near drowning of waterboarding was not a crime and didn't even cause pain, but Ronald Reagan's Justice Department thought otherwise, prosecuting a Texas sheriff and three deputies for using the practice to get confessions."
Suosa probably thinks that taser use is also spiffy. I hope the herald keeps her op-eds off page one.
from Digby
"... a teen-age bicyclist who was tasered five times for failing to respond to a police officer's order to "get off the road." It is written by a lawyer who specializes in bicyclist rights and he asks the fundamental question: do you have a right to not comply with a police officer? It's at the heart of the taser question because nine times out of ten, people are not being tasered because they are threatening the cop or anyone else; they are tasered because they fail to comply with a police officer's order. So, the question is, do the police have a right to shoot someone with electricity simply because he or she is arguing with them or refuses to promptly obey their order?
If police used these things sparingly and had to answer to board of inquiry whenever they are used, it would be one thing. But they are using them pretty much in any situation and often when they already have someone in custody. And while it's true that as a practical matter one is well advised to cooperate with police, I find it difficult to see how we are a free people, with rights guaranteed by the constitution, if the government is allowed to shoot citizens with electricity solely because they fail to do what agents of the government tell them to do."
Having had the almost drowning sensation myself I know waterboarding is terrible. I shall gladly waterboard this stupid broad so that she stops writing ignorant things in an effort to make the Bush adm look good.
interesting to see how some really feel. mensa by what you just said i guess your no better than those you call ignorant.
to disagree with a bush administration policy is one thing but to exact almost a revenge type attitude is ridiculous. this is the problem the left sees today and may very well land where the right did after these past elections. it is a new day "move on".
no doubt anonymouse has that extra gop chromosone, the one that prevents them from "getting it". mensa is simply using mirror prefect irony to make her point that torture is immoral. period.
Thank you swampthing for understanding my note. I do not expect some people to understand, but perhaps I made it too strong.
Mensa, Don't mind the roving GOP...they love to come and insult our readers.
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