The American Way of Torture

[rhett o rick]

The American Way of Torture

From an article in The Nation, Jan. 5, 2015 (please support The Nation and other progressive publications)

The report on the brutalities of the CIA’s secret prisons is the most important work by the Senate Intelligence Committee since congressional oversight of the CIA began in the 1970s. Its descriptions of torture and deception are as compelling as the newsreels of the Nuremberg trials.

The CIA’s codes of conduct before 9/11 clearly stated, “Inhumane physical or psychological techniques are counterproductive because they do not produce intelligence and will probably result in false answers.”

So what happened after 9/11? Why did the CIA decide to torture when they knew it didn't work to provide meaningful intelligence?

My answer is that torture is performed for more than just getting intelligence. In this case it was important for the President and those that helped him, to get some kind of justification for invading Iraq. The poor bastards getting tortured were probably willing to say anything to stop the torture but they couldn't tell where the WMD's were BECAUSE THERE WEREN'T ANY.
Another reason is that sometimes leaders are psychopaths. I wouldn't be surprised that played a role in this case. Not mentioning any names but a nickname of "Little Dick" keeps coming to mind.
And one more reason to torture is what all tyrants know well, terrorism. Scare the crap out of the people, the enemy, everyone.

So who is in charge? The president or the CIA? Great question. Congress is obviously out to lunch (with a lobbyist or six).

Really where was Congress? Granted they were lied to, but...

False answers were what Congress got from Bush’s CIA directors and their underlings. They delivered deceptive testimony and destroyed videotapes of torture. Brennan had to reprimand five officers for cybersnooping on the Senate’s files. The intelligence committees cannot function if the CIA lies to them and spies on them.

These are good excuses but why did Congress sit back and let it happen? Seriously, why?

My take is that we no longer have Congress-Critters that truly represent the People.
And we don't have a president that will stand up and, at a minimum, reprimand the torturers.

[KoKo]

1. WHY!...

I've tried to think of reasons..but, this one seems to ring true. So many of them are "Bought and Paid For" and they do what they have to do...even if it means Endless War and Death of Millions all paid for by our Tax Dollars and out of the Pockets of the Poor and Disenfranchised. "Torture" is a word they can't connect with since they are so FAR removed from Those Who Are Being Tortured. They rationalize it all away that these are Human Beings who mostly were caught up in War and have no ability to be HEARD by LAWYER or TRIED BY JURY. But, then they are "DIFFERENT, because they aren't AMERICANS or our ALLIES...and they are just Lumped Together as "Terrorists. Hardly what we thought our Judicial System was about when we all grew up. But, then...."Things are Different" these days.

My take is that we no longer have Congress-Critters that truly represent the People.
And we don't have a president that will stand up and, at a minimum, reprimand the torturers.

[demwing]

2. "sometimes leaders are psychopaths"

and sometimes they are also fundamentalist zealots in the Church of Americanism. They see the Constitution as a Bible, George Washington as a Moses figure, and the flag as their cross. They are religious fanatics, ready to kill the unbeliever and sacrifice the heretic, because they believe that God has tasked them with dominion over men. They are the worst sort of psychopaths, and they scare the fuck outta me.

[rhett o rick]

3. The Powers That Be or the Oligarch Rulers are only interested in power. Power is the ultimate

goal. Wealth is just a way to get power. Those with the power use those like Richard "Little Dick" Cheney most likely a psychopath, and George Bush the idiot son, for their own use.

The Powers That Be don't necessarily want us dead, they just don't care if we die.

[Enthusiast]

4. I agree. They tortured to get the answers they wanted to justify the Iraq War.

Bush, Cheney and the others operated inside a bubble. If you didn't agree with the team's objectives you were not allowed to play in Rain Deer games.

Governing a nation from inside a bubble is never a good idea. Leading up to the Iraq War we heard every single good reason for not invading expressed on TV. But these good reasons for not invading Iraq were drowned out by the "experts" with louder voices from inside the administration.

They wanted to invade Iraq in the very worst way. Why? The invasion alone caused oil prices to shoot up to $146/barrel. "Contractors" made out like bandits (maybe they actually were bandits). But why? Because Dubya needed to be a "war president'? Maybe it was all of the above.