An Anti-Torture Voice at the Corner
Jim Manzi has a first-rate must-read post on waterboarding at both the Corner and the American Scene. It is precisely the type of approach I have argued should be made by those of us on...
Tagged: torture
Taking Leave of Our Senses
“But the argument isn’t going away. It will be with us as long as the threat of terrorism endures. And where the Bush administration’s interrogation programs are concerned, we’ve heard too much to just...
Not Reading What You Defend
I had fully intended to take a lengthy hiatus from torture-blogging, but this story just magnifies why I’ve become so frustrated over claims that the program authorized by the Bybee memo is clearly not...
Our Sins
Christ’s crucifixion was a sort of torture, and His death on the cross a symbol of the greater spiritual death and torment He suffered on our behalf…
Why They Fight
Jim Manzi has written a provocative post on the moral distinction between battlefield killing and torturing unarmed POWs: So apparently it’s OK to inflict (the most extreme imaginable) violence when the guy is totally...
all the president’s spies
John Judis would like to have more discussion about the possibility of ditching the CIA, or at the very least completely restructuring it: The question that Congress might ponder, but won’t, is whether the...
a quote for saturday
“What you see in the relationship between torturer and tortured is the absolute darkness of totalitarianism. You see one individual granted the most complete power he can ever hold over another. Not just confinement...
stating the obvious
“And then, where is the use of torture? It is a slippery trial and uncertain (says Ulpian) to convince by torture. For many says (says St Augustine again) he that is yet but questioned,...
quote for the morning
“It’s perfectly possible to think both at once: that real-world torture is ineffective, and that fantasy-world effective torture would be ethically atrocious.” ~ Jason Kuznicki more after the leap…
Taking the Wrong Approach
I’m increasingly coming to the conclusion that both sides of the “Did We Torture?” debate are doing themselves a big disservice in how they approach their arguments. This perhaps isn’t surprising since I tend...
Torture (II)
Torture is a difficult subject. I think that for Americans of a certain disposition – particularly those of us who grew up abroad – the idea of torture really cuts to the bone; a...
Certainty About the Law
First, let me say that I respect Sonny Bunch. A lot. I rarely agree with Sonny, but he is clearly and genuinely interested in engaging those with whom he disagrees. That said, the posts (and...
a quote for the middle of the afternoon
“I’m sick to frigging death of people – self-identifiedly conservative or otherwise – whose reaction to the ongoing revelation of what our government and its representatives did post-9/11 is to say, Oh, well, I’m...
I think…
…that before any news commentator states that waterboarding isn’t torture they should at least have to experience it first.
truth and consequences
“Disclosure of the techniques is likely to be met by faux outrage, and is perfectly packaged for media consumption. It will also incur the utter contempt of our enemies. Somehow, it seems unlikely that...
The Torture Memos
(Updates below and continuing as more reactions come in…) You can read the memos here. Sullivan has some initial thoughts up here: I do not believe that any American president has ever orchestrated, constructed...
ad hoc justice
So it looks as though Spain is opening formal criminal inquiries into alleged war crimes surrounding the use of torture by the Bush administration. Judge Baltasar Garzón is involved in the investigation, the same...
