Andy Blackadar

Torture

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:22:44 -0500

I continue to despair about the U.S. use of torture. Nick Kristof's column "When We Torture" (2/14/08) certainly pricks my conscience. I wish there were louder voices joining together on this everywhere.

The senate just passed bill prohibiting water-boarding, the president has promised to veto it. The justice department's office of legal counsel now says that they haven't determined that waterboarding is legal. Of course, the other half of that is missing: they haven't determined that it illegal either.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/14/opinion/14kristof.html?hp

Will a new president bring relief? There is reason for hope.

Civic Passivity

Fri, 27 May 2005 09:24:28 -0500

More than one hundred detainees have died in U.S. custody in the "GWOT." The United States has "rendered" suspects to other countries for "special treatment," torture, and execution. This might make it seem as if the United States wants to avoid the rough stuff, but that would be wrong. The DCI, Porter Goss claims that "waterboarding" is a "professional interrogation" technique. Unfortunately, the term waterboarding does not adequately capture the horror of what is done to the prisoner.

A failure to see beyond the abstractions and the euphemisms has led to a dangerous civic passivity in this country. We must strive to see beyond the words and to see our actions for what they really are. After all, the world thinks that America is doing this. And is the world not right; aren't American citizens ultimately responsible for the actions of their government? Therefore, let us shine a bright light on what many choose not to see.

Start by imagining waterboarding, examine it unflinchingly, without turning away. (If you are think that your imagination is not up to it, the film, Four Days in September, shows the Brazilian police using this technique.) This is what my government sanctions. I am horrified.

Fritz Stern has an interesting piece "Lessons From German History" where he speaks about the dangers of civic passivity. I have included a few interesting excerpts below (click on the continue reading button). He worries about our future now and I worry he may be right.

I know that I have underestimated the power and consequences of the policies current government in Washington. I know that I have not done enough. I challenge all of my colleagues, those of you reading this blog, to turn your personal and professional energies to shining a bright light on what many do not want to see.

Should journalists be held to a higher standard than the government?

Tue, 17 May 2005 11:18:09 -0500

The credibility of the media continues to wither as it is simultaneously exploited and attacked by the savvy political party that is calling the tune. Lax journalists may have brought much upon themselves, but there is more going on here.

Most recently, the White House self-righteously brayed that an errant Newsweek report about the conduct of U.S. interrogators at Guatanomo Bay has damaged our image abroad and caused riots in Afghanistan and Pakistan that cost lives. It is, of course, an inadequate and incomplete explanation— and a claim that should be worthy of intense scrutiny. Where will the White House claim get this deserved scrutiny? Probably on the Daily Show, Comedy Central’s “fake news” program that revels in pointing out intellectual inconsistencies, faulty reasoning, and hypocrisy.

Much of the mainstream media will focus instead on Newsweek’s journalistic failure, which does deserve attention. The right’s spin machine will add fuel to this fire in another sleight of hand designed to deflect attention from the impact that our own government’s ill-conceived policies have had on our image abroad; and let’s not forget the cost in lives.

We might also remind ourselves of the U.S. government’s errors in reporting the facts during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq. Newsweek’s failure pales in comparison.