"Torturing Democracy" Excerpt #4

[0opi8]

might = right

what did you do about it?

nothing but complain

[phillipmarch22]

Great video! Oh, I so agree! We, (oh, I mean our wonderful, beautiful military men and women), will have to endure these procedures, I mean torture because of what we have done. It is not "if", but "when" they do. We have given the world permission to do it. Unbelievable!

[im4wur]

source for above:

TESTIMONY OF LEE F. GUNN VICE ADMIRAL, USN (RET.)

HEARING ON "GETTING TO THE TRUTH THROUGH A NONPARTISAN COMMISSION OF INQUIRY"

BEFORE THE UNITED STATES SENATE

COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY

MARCH 4, 2009

[im4wur]

Exceprts from Retired Vice Admiral Lee Gunn's testimomy before Congress:

"An independent commission could undertake the task of examining the facts and, in so doing, weigh the true effectiveness of the Bush administration's torture tactics. Did torture actually uncover actionable intelligence? Did it interrupt plans? And did it actually save lives? If so, what were the countervailing costs to our national security?" - (cont.)

[im4wur]

(cont.) "Did the use of torture spark terrorist recruitment, increase danger to our troops, and damage U.S. leadership and prestige? And did these costs outweigh the benefits? Might actionable intelligence have also been obtained by the non-coercive methods experienced intelligence interrogators experts recommend and employ? What strategic security gains could be reaped from shifting to a policy of complete, consistent and transparent compliance with human rights norms?" (cont.)

[im4wur]

(cont.) "The Bush Administration's misguided embrace of torture, secret prisons and renditions to torture came at an enormous cost to our American values, our laws, and our counterterrorism efforts. Repairing our reputation as a nation committed to human rights and building a more sustainable framework for national security policy going forward requires a comprehensive examination of the policies and practices that sanctioned torture and abuse." (cont.)

[im4wur]

(cont.) "This Congress and the new Administration have a window of opportunity to conduct an examination that signals to the American people and to the world that the policies of the last seven years were an aberration and that the United States is invested in creating an effective, long-term strategy for counterterrorism and intelligence gathering which adheres to American principles and values and to United States and international law." (cont.)

[im4wur]

(cont.) "The stakes are incredibly high. In the balance hangs the ability of the United States to maintain the integrity of our counterterrorism policy; improve intelligence cooperation with allies; support the human intelligence community in employing proven, effective methods for gathering actionable information; and re-establish the moral authority necessary to restore the United States as a world leader in upholding human rights."

[rickrocker]

This is a much more thoughtful argument than "Don't hurt the combatants". The man is speaking logically, I can see how it opens to doors to the rest of the world.

[Amhlair]

Why is YouTube disabling comments for these excerpts even though there are almost none yet? Apparently they missed this one....

[im4wur]

The ability to enable or disable comments is per the discretion of the video poster.