Is waterboarding, known during the Spanish Inquisition as tortura del agua, really torture or not? The question seems to answer itself, but the Bush administration says No. Its critics disagree, noting that the “interrogation technique,” which makes a subject physically and mentally react as though he is drowning, has long been regarded as torture by international agreements and outlawed in the United States.The rest of this week's op-ed, "Torturing the Language of Torture," is at The Future of Freedom Foundation website.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Torturing the Language of Torture
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2 comments:
They don't come right out and say it, but I think right-wingers approve of torture for the same reason they don't mind police use of tasering: It inflicts punishment to people who "really" deserve it. Our legal system has become infiltrated by liberal judges, they say, and the liberals in Congress and in the media won't let the military fight to win. So the least our brave soldiers and police can do is administer a little on-the-spot justice.
As Arthur Silber (powerofnarrative.blogspot.com) says, "the advocacy of torture, no matter how 'limited' or how narrowly drawn, is the advocacy of evil."
Excellent article, Sheldon.
Your explanation rings true to me. Thanks, Larry.
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