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June 23, 2004
What's All the Hubbub Bub?
Frankly I fail to see what all the fuss is about.
Rumsfeld's Nov. 27, 2002, memo approved several methods which apparently would violate Geneva Convention rules, including:
Putting detainees in "stress positions," such as standing, for up to four hours.
Having worked several jobs where I was required to stand for 8+ hours, I don't see a problem.
Removing prisoners' clothes.
Ok this is wrong, unless they're making them put on clean drawers.
Intimidating detainees with dogs.
Ever watched Cops or see a police dog in action?
Interrogating prisoners for 20 hours at a time.
Bullshit. Cops do this all the time.
Forcing prisoners to wear hoods during interrogations and transportation.
Yeah, let's make sure they can see everything and report back when they get out.
Shaving detainees' heads and beards.
Head lice. They're gross and carry diseases.
Using "mild, non-injurious physical contact," such as poking.
Especially if you say "Hey! Hey! Hey!" with every poke. That drives my daughter nuts.
Rumsfeld issued a new set of approved interrogation methods later that month, disallowing nakedness and requiring approval for four techniques: use of rewards or removal of privileges;
[my kids were severely abused then]
verbally attacking or insulting the ego of a detainee;
[I confess. I have tortured witnesses on cross-examination]
alternating friendly and unfriendly interrogators in a "good cop, bad cop" method;
[this is too stupid to even comment on]
and isolation.
[Time-outs for terrorists. Too cruel for words.]
Let's get a firmer grip on reality here people. You'd be hard pressed to even work up a decent civil rights violation based on these rules.
This is a war, not a freaking tea party. I don't think we should torture these prisoners, and we should treat them decently but come on.
Objections to these rules are ridiculous.
Posted by Rita at June 23, 2004 09:59 AM
Comments
You crack me up lady. If you're right, I too must be guilty of war crimes while parenting.
"Naughty murdering despot. Go to bed now. No, no supper for you."
Posted by: Andy at June 23, 2004 10:51 AM
I understand your stand on this, but perhaps you're not looking at all of the details. I'm sending you two links, one from the New York Review of Books and one from The Guardian (UK). You need to sign in at the Guardian site, but it's free. I think that there's more to the torture accusations than what you have stated.
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/17190
http://media.guardian.co.uk/presspublishing/story/0,7495,1223407,00.html
Posted by: S. Ryan at June 23, 2004 11:00 AM
S. Ryan, I think there's a world of difference between the behavior that I posted about and the behavior you're referring to....which BTW was clearly unauthorized by the documents to which I was referring.
What I'm saying that to claim those documents authorize anything like torture is absurd. Frankly I don't consider the treatment that you refer to as torture. Maltreatment yes. Reprehensible maybe. But not "infliction of severe physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion," which is one definition of torture.
Posted by: rita at June 23, 2004 01:52 PM
Did you read the article in The Guardian? If you don't think that's torture, I'm afraid of you.
Posted by: S. Ryan at June 23, 2004 04:38 PM
I'm afraid of you too, Rita, but by damn, I still think you're awesome! :)
Posted by: Craig at June 23, 2004 10:49 PM
As you pointed out, Rita, this isn't a tea party.
Posted by: Da Goddess at June 24, 2004 12:17 AM
Me, scary? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Or should I say
BWAHAHAHAHA!
Posted by: rita at June 24, 2004 08:20 AM
You're beautiful, in a scary sort of way.
You go, girl!
Posted by: RB at June 26, 2004 10:26 AM