Cherry Picking Experts

I have enjoyed your many posts on Hugh Hewitt's blog and I just discovered that you have one of your own. You can count me as a regular reader.

A suggstion: Post a detailed biography and including your full name. IMO, this will increase your credibility and, therefore, your readership.

Bruce Sherman
Oakland, Oregon

While I agree in principle we should not engage in torture, some interogation techniques that have been described as such are not, at least in my book. Abu Ghraib set us back tremendously and was a huge mistake. The C.O. of that prison should have known what was going on and stopped it. However, if we capture high value targets and they have time sensitive information, we can persuade them without doing permanent harm and not cross the torture line.

Fair enough. Although if ever there was a slipperly slope example it was this one. The President, Gonzales, Cheney and Rumsfeld come up with a plan to "take off the gloves" and "go to the dark side." It is right after 9/11, there is real danger of a new attack, and the country wants action (and revenge). I don't doubt their sincerity and motives--but the outcome was not as intended.

The DoD farmed out much of the interrogation effort to consultant contractors not subject to the military law. Those consultants at Abu Ghraib encouraged the night guards to "tune up" prisoners. In addition to the sexual humilation stuff (which in the Arab world is actually far more offensive than "true torture")--a few prisoners were beaten to death at Abu Ghraib. Worse happened at Bagram.

That is why we have to be really careful about this type of stuff.

Toady--even though I often do not agree with you, you do say provocative things that sometimes make a lot of sense. Thanks for your kind words.

Bruce and Virgina Patriot--thanks for your comments too.