What's Your Opinion of Waterboarding?

by minimus 112 Replies latest jw friends

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  Gopher

  Of course it's torture. Bush is lying when he says America is not involved in torture.

  The Bush/Cheney crew believe torture will yield true confessions. How constitutional is that ? And how ignorant is that?

  All the expert testimony I've seen has said that torture yields little or no usable intelligence. Also, it backfires and puts our soldiers in greater danger. Because when America's enemies see that America has given up on its principles and applies torture, they are more likely to increase their usage and intensity of torture against captured American soldiers.
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  eclipse

  All of the Government officials who say it is not torture, like : Bush / Cheney, etc. should undergo waterboarding for at least a minute.

  Bet they change their opinion real fast
• 

  5go

  Congress has always declined to outlaw it, 5 times thus far.

  But they have to run out and act outraged about it.

  Why would they outlaw it. It is already outlawed it under the Geneva Conventions and the 8th amendment. They wouldn't need to outlaw it.
• 

  Gopher

  Congress has always declined to outlaw it, 5 times thus far.

  Emy, how can you say that?. Please explain this article: ttp://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/01/04/bush_could_bypass_new_torture_ban/

  Almost two years ago, Bush signed a torture ban into law. Then he wrote one of his controversial (and despicable, in my view) "signing statements" where he outlined his exceptions (the parts he wouldn't enforce) to the law Congress just passed.

  Bush is the one declining to outlaw it. Congress did its job in 2005, and this version of Congress had a Republican majority !!
• 

  emy the infidel

  1st of all, nothing is more embarassing than Congress' current approval rating, nothing.

  2nd Gopher, the article says: "The president and his aides argued that the Constitution gives the commander in chief the authority to bypass the 1978 law when necessary to protect national security. They also argued that Congress implicitly endorsed that power when it authorized the use of force against the perpetrators of the attacks."

  This is true, and has been exercized by every President since 1978. The only time anyone from the activist media squacks about it is when a republican President uses it. No one, in large numbers anyway, complained about Bill Clinton's similar decisions, that was before 9/11.

  3rd Geneva Conventions rules don't apply to terrorists.

  Why doesn't Congress outlaw it? B/c this all partisan double speak.
• 

  Gopher

  Emy,

  The Geneva Convention applies to prisoners-of-war, no matter where they are from. Who decided that the Geneva Conventions do not apply to terrorists? Where does it say that? (I need more information, if there is an international law saying that, then I will stand corrected.)

  I don't agree with ANY president bypassing Congress and accountability to the American people, deciding to become dictator-in-chief, be they Democrat, Republican, Whig, Green or whatever party.

  So, do you think torture has ever yielded real, usable intelligence? What evidence exists that it does? Should we bring back the rack and the iron maiden too? Those kinds of devices frightened people into "confessions" back in medieval times, so why not now?
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  Shawn10538

  What is waterboarding?
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  ush419

  The school referred to where you were waterboarded in the Navy I went through many years ago. And I tell you that I want them to use whatever means available to get information out of those terrorists bastards. If it saves American lives torture em, if they intercept phone calls that have to do with terrorism well then do it. Its all about proving protection for americans and kick rear against the islamofacists. They the terrorists arent' going by any Geneva Convention Rules so they set the pace so lets do to them before they do to us.
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  Gopher

  Shawn,

  See Eclipse's post earlier on this thread for a detailed description of this practice.
• 

  Blueblades

  Is any kind of torture allowable? Suppose a captive has information that a nuclear weapon was going to be detonated where you live and all your loved ones including yourself and millions more would be killed, what would you do, how far would you be willing to go, to get that information.

  This question has been played out and according to how you are personally affected different answers have been given. What would your answer be?

  Blueblades