Heavy Duty
Dear Gentle Reader,
I'd planned to tell you about gas prices in San Diego today ($2.35) and other aspects of life by the sea. But then I read an article that really bothered me. Today's entry is heavy duty, so if you'd rather surf to another website where the subject is lighter, feel free. Don't say I didn't warn you!
"We have met the enemy, and they are us."
Remember that Pogo quotation that was popular during the Vietnam War?
As Yogi Berra might say, "This is déjà vu all over again."
The troubling article I read was in Harper’s Magazine regarding our country’s current policy of torture in pursuing the "war on terror".
Porter Goss, CIA director, reportedly told the Senate Intelligence Committee in February that torture "doesn’t work. There are better ways to deal with captives." Then why does our country continue to use our tax dollars in a way that is reprehensible to most citizens? The use of torture as inherent to the way military and clandestine operations function is absolutely contrary to the Geneva Convention that have been part of "civilized" warfare for years and years, for good reason. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is pretty sound advice.
Does the Army truly run a "torture school" at Fort Benning, Georgia? Rumors that have circulated since the 80s carry more credence in the light of Abu Gharaib and Guantanamo.
The United States is obviously no longer a Christian nation. Jesus told his followers that they must love their enemies, and pray for those who treated them badly. What part of that is too conceptually abstract for our leaders to understand? We can't blame one political party or the other, either; very few senators or representatives have spoken up to denounce torture as a means of gaining intelligence. John McCain is one of the few exceptions.
If you’d like to read the entire article in Harper’s, it’s called "What We’ve Lost" by William Pfaff in the November issue. Many innocent civilians are being tortured and even dying in the process. Over 100 deaths have resulted from suffocation, beatings, etc.
What Pfaff fails to offer is a means of citizen response to such a heinous policy. But here’s an idea. You, my friends and relatives, live in a lot of different states, and you all likewise have friends and relatives that are far-flung. Why don’t you copy today’s blog and send it to them? You (and they) can go to the following websites to find your Congressional Representative’s e-mail or fax number, as well as those for the Senators for your state. Tell them you want them to halt all funding for the CIA (which seems to be doing a lot of the dirty work). Ask them to personally denounce torture by Americans in the war on terror. That would be a good beginning.
Fax numbers
http://www.aspb.org/publicaffairs/state_fax_nmbrs.cfm
E-mail info
http://www.congress.org
How can we talk about conducting a war on terror when our country is itself inflicting pain and terror? "We have met the enemy and they are us."
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.
The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is for good men/[women] to do nothing. --Attributed to Edmund Burke
I'd planned to tell you about gas prices in San Diego today ($2.35) and other aspects of life by the sea. But then I read an article that really bothered me. Today's entry is heavy duty, so if you'd rather surf to another website where the subject is lighter, feel free. Don't say I didn't warn you!
"We have met the enemy, and they are us."
Remember that Pogo quotation that was popular during the Vietnam War?
As Yogi Berra might say, "This is déjà vu all over again."
The troubling article I read was in Harper’s Magazine regarding our country’s current policy of torture in pursuing the "war on terror".
Porter Goss, CIA director, reportedly told the Senate Intelligence Committee in February that torture "doesn’t work. There are better ways to deal with captives." Then why does our country continue to use our tax dollars in a way that is reprehensible to most citizens? The use of torture as inherent to the way military and clandestine operations function is absolutely contrary to the Geneva Convention that have been part of "civilized" warfare for years and years, for good reason. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is pretty sound advice.
Does the Army truly run a "torture school" at Fort Benning, Georgia? Rumors that have circulated since the 80s carry more credence in the light of Abu Gharaib and Guantanamo.
The United States is obviously no longer a Christian nation. Jesus told his followers that they must love their enemies, and pray for those who treated them badly. What part of that is too conceptually abstract for our leaders to understand? We can't blame one political party or the other, either; very few senators or representatives have spoken up to denounce torture as a means of gaining intelligence. John McCain is one of the few exceptions.
If you’d like to read the entire article in Harper’s, it’s called "What We’ve Lost" by William Pfaff in the November issue. Many innocent civilians are being tortured and even dying in the process. Over 100 deaths have resulted from suffocation, beatings, etc.
What Pfaff fails to offer is a means of citizen response to such a heinous policy. But here’s an idea. You, my friends and relatives, live in a lot of different states, and you all likewise have friends and relatives that are far-flung. Why don’t you copy today’s blog and send it to them? You (and they) can go to the following websites to find your Congressional Representative’s e-mail or fax number, as well as those for the Senators for your state. Tell them you want them to halt all funding for the CIA (which seems to be doing a lot of the dirty work). Ask them to personally denounce torture by Americans in the war on terror. That would be a good beginning.
Fax numbers
http://www.aspb.org/publicaffairs/state_fax_nmbrs.cfm
E-mail info
http://www.congress.org
How can we talk about conducting a war on terror when our country is itself inflicting pain and terror? "We have met the enemy and they are us."
Pro 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation; but sin is a reproach to any people.
The only thing needed for the triumph of evil is for good men/[women] to do nothing. --Attributed to Edmund Burke
posted by Patty G. | 6:43 PM
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