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Enhanced interrogation techniques and residual stain on the American character

Christopher Curran
Posted 12/18/14

When Senator Diane Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence decided to release the 500-page summary report on so called “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” she …

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Enhanced interrogation techniques and residual stain on the American character

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When Senator Diane Feinstein, Chairwoman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence decided to release the 500-page summary report on so called “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques” she succeeded in provoking a firestorm of controversy. The report might possibly motivate Islamic Terrorists to foster more heinous plans of attacks, or the report might be aptly used as a recruiting document in the cause of jihadists.

In addition to those unfortunate possibilities, the report holds a mirror of scrutiny on the actions of the Central Intelligence Agency and the American government. In doing so, that reflection begs a vital question about our national identity. In our government officials’ past employ of these techniques have we become what we disdain? Also, have we ruined our nation’s reputation as the beacon of justice for the world?

In the wake of the 911 attacks, the citizens of the United States were unsure and unsettled. The security of American soil had been violated and in an attempt to restore our sense of safety the administration of President George W. Bush strove aggressively to find our radical enemies. Constitutionally, those who perpetrated the attacks should have been considered either criminal suspects entitled to a due process of law or the assailants should have been deemed prisoners of war entitled to the protections of the Geneva Convention. To the contrary, a new classification of “Illegal Combatants” was coined. This categorization gave a Carte Blanche license to do as our government willed with those who were deemed a threat.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary the definition of Torture is as follows: 1. Anguish of the body and mind. 2. The infliction of severe pain to punish or coerce. In the Senate report, the “techniques” used included rectal feeding, rectal rehydration, slamming detainees against walls repeatedly, sleep deprivation, facial slapping, coffin or box containment, insect infusions, prolonged stress positioning, nakedness, mandatory diaper wearing, mock executions, shackling in standing positions or in crucified positions on floors, and perhaps most disturbing water-boarding.

Quite quizzically, former Deputy Attorney General of the United States, John Yoo, stated that in his office’s legal opinion none of these techniques were considered torturous.

Throughout history, leaders and conquerors have used barbarous torture techniques to either solicit information, punish political or religious enemies, or for abhorrent entertainment purposes. Under Roman law, the Roman Senate stratified degrees of torture. The first degree included “soft torture” such as public whipping. The second degree included crushing of extremities. The third degree of legal torture included mutilation and most often death. Using the Roman barometer perhaps Enhanced Interrogation would most likely be rendered akin to a first degree or “soft” torture.

Russian emperors Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great malevolently used all degrees of torture of their fellow human beings as grand entertainment.

Misguidedly, in British Colonial America torture was used as part of the penal code of the era. Public stocks, flogging, and stretching by rope harness were part of society’s retribution for misdemeanor transgressions. The humanization of our society occurred when the United States and its constitution were established. Now there was a nation in the world that ensured the rights of the individual and guaranteed a due process of law. Our nation became the beacon of light and fairness and justice for all nations to emulate.

As the constitution was amended and strengthened, protections against torture were further elevated.

Additionally, the United States has been a signatory on many international agreements against the use of torture such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in 1966, and the United Nation Convention against Torture Compact in 1984. We have violated our word as a nation with these Enhanced Interrogation Techniques no matter how the Bush administration couches the description. Furthermore, the prestige and reputation of the United States have been diminished by the use of these techniques. Perhaps more crucially, the constitutional intentions of our founding fathers to build a country that protected individual liberties have been disregarded.

Certainly, we should worry that this report’s exposure will galvanize our enemies. Equally, agents of our government should comport themselves in a manner which exhibits the precepts of the American character. We are a people who value liberty, fairness, and lawfulness for everyone. No matter how unsure the atmosphere was in our nation after the 911 attacks, we should not forget how essential it is to preserve our American ideals. Otherwise, we become what we disdain and revile in other societies.

All in all, there was danger in the disclosure of this information. Simultaneously, coupled with that danger is a question of how we wished to be perceived as a nation. Do we want to be known as the country of refuge in a world of injustice? Or do we want to be known as a country willing to sacrifice our bedrock principles for expediency’s sake?

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  • HortensiaOHoulihan

    This article accurately captures a contentious issue which wears on the conscience of American society as a whole. However, as it concerns CIA interrogation, I believe the author is missing an ever prevalent sentiment held by many Americans which calls for a deeper understanding. Today, the American citizen finds him or herself living in a dangerous world plagued by extremists who seek to frivolously kill innocent civilians by utilizing unfathomable, and often undetectable, methods. For many, hijacked planes and exploding bombs on crowded street corners are more than just horrifying news stories broadcast throughout the world but rather a personal turmoil spurring a yearning for protection and a dire sense of urgency, especially if these atrocities take place at home – on American soil. I agree with the author’s depiction of these “interrogation techniques” as nothing other than torture in every sense of the word. I also agree that the current practice of imprisoning suspected terrorist without due process of law is not only illegal but a noticeable tear in our nation’s moral fabric, ultimately diminishing the credibility our government claims to hold. On the other hand, these acts of torture at the hands of the American government are not inflicted for the sake of entertainment, for the purpose of retribution, or as punishment for misdemeanor transgressions. Such a comparison fails to account for the acts of violence targeting American civilians which sadly have occurred within the birth of the 21st century. This carnage has created an “us versus them” mentality, perceivably making the torture of suspected terrorists a more acceptable practice in an effort to obtain information concerning planned future attacks on our nation. Although many Americans harbor a misguided belief that torture is an effective method in achieving this end, one cannot disregard the heinous reality of the perilous world we live in – that which ultimately drives us to compromise ideals for the safety of our family, our loved ones, and ultimately our citizenry in its entirety. Without condoning torture in any way, shape, or form, one cannot examine the injustice behind the practice without recognizing the context in which it is taking place.

    Saturday, December 20, 2014 Report this

  • rtwhit55

    Christopher,this is the best piece of intellectual writing that you have yet produced.

    Thursday, January 1, 2015 Report this