Incoherent & Confused Ramblings (on the Torture Issue)

By Kanrei Torture is a popular topic these days. It could be the “Mel Gibson Effect” on society I suppose. I mean we could have seen “Passions of the Christ” or any Mel Gibson flick for that matter. As we sat in the theater or on our couches watching the two plus hours of nonstop torture, we could have grown accustomed to it. You never know. If porn is credited with serial killers than I can give “Passions” credit for the recent rise in torture. Sorry, I am losing myself on tangents early this time. I think "before I start" is a new record for losing the subject for me. I wanted to speak about torture from the logical libertarian’s perspective. Yes, we do exist, there just are not many of us and none of us are members of the actual Libertarian party. Torture is not new at all and Mel Gibson has nothing to do with its popularity. I think he may have something to do with the public’s recent acceptance of it, but torture has been used for as long as people have had issues with one another. We only get better at it as time goes on, but torture, like terrorism is here to stay because it has always been here. That only leaves the option of how to deal with it. Ignoring it is not going to change anything. It would be like ignoring the lump forming on your neck. Torture is a symptom, not a disease. It is a symptom of the powerful suddenly feeling weak and exposed. Much like terrorism is the symptom of the weak suddenly feeling exposed and abused. We are torturing suspected terrorists not because we think it is fun or funny, but because we fear what they are capable of doing. It is a sign of fear pure and simple. Since we know torture is a sign of fear, then we must think if fear is an image we wish to project to those who wish to destroy us. If we claim that signs of weakness are what encouraged them in the first place, then what does showing fear do? There is a pattern to the attacks against us and you do not need to torture someone to see it. They hit us with every new President for the most part. Here is the pattern. Iran took the hostages in 1979 and Carter failed to get them out. Reagan negotiated and got them released, but then retreated when the Marine barracks were hit in Beirut in ‘83. Since Reagan fought hard in South America, the terrorist never gained a foothold there, but we showed nothing but weakness in the Middle East and that trend continued with Bush and Clinton. I was proud of Bush for not going into Baghdad in 91, but I am thinking I was wrong. The Arab world saw that as another sign of U.S. weakness. They tested the new President in ‘93 with the WTC, but Clinton did not give them the response they wanted. They spent the next eight years laying low with sporadic hits and planning the next big attack for the next President. Clinton's response in Somalia was the final nail in the Arab world's view of us. We tried to out the warlords and left once a few soldiers got killed. The Muslim extremists just recently overthrew those warlords. I bet that is making them think they are stronger than we are now. Anyways, Bush the Second wins in 2000 and they know he will take the bait. They send in false information about Iraq (“they” being our old enemy Iran) and then set off the attack of 9/11/01. Same target as before because it was the same test. Bush gave them their war. Bush gave them their exact war. Iran never could beat Iraq. They tried everything they could and never could take Saddam out. Iran figured and correctly that Son of Bush would love to do what daddy didn't. Iran used the U.S. to beat Iraq and now they are taking it. I did it again. Sorry about that. Torture, right. Ok, so the above is why we are so scared right now and we should be. They are using our freedoms against us and playing us very well. They are reminding us why they have lasted thousands of years pretty much. They are a tough people who are prepared for pain and suffering. Torture therefore will never work. It only enforces their beliefs about us and gives them stories to tell. Torture to them by outsiders of another faith is just another crusade to them. They are taught that these are the moments their G-d is testing them and to give in is to fail the test. What we are doing right now is nothing new to them. The only way to beat them is to show them their conceptions are wrong about us and that will never happen while we have a President and Senators fighting for the right to keep up the “aggressive interrogation techniques”. We went to Iraq with bullets and bombs expecting flowers and candy. We dropped “Care packages” from the same planes we would drop bombs from. In today’s world image is everything and we are lousy at public relations. This is just what I see and I am logical enough to realize my desire is not reality. In reality, do I expect my country to torture suspected terrorists to gain information that could prevent another attack? Yes, I do. I cheer Jack Bauer like everyone else while I watch “24” and turn and ask why our government does not have people like that. Then I realize we do. What I do not expect is for my government to publicly fight over the right to torture. To my left leaning friends, expecting our government not to torture suspects after 9/11 is like expecting a person with pneumonia not to have a fever. Torture is a symptom, not the disease. To my right leaning friends, torture is not the right thing to do unless every other option has been tried and time is a known factor. I expect my government to torture to protect me, but I also expect them to hide it better. Remember that symptoms are signs of disease and disease will only grow if left untreated. Sorry if I rambled and thank you for the commitment to finishing my babble.