Counter PSYOP
(Part 2)
“He that would make his own liberty secure must guard even his enemy from oppression; for if he violates this duty, he establishes a precedent that will reach to himself” – Thomas Paine
The “Torture Memos”
A transparent cue of a republic gong wrong is when torture becomes justified as a means of obtaining HUMINT (Human Intelligence). In other words, when authorities begin torturing people to obtain information; it means bad news for everyone.
The infamous Bybee Memo was sent from Assistant Attorney General Jay S. Bybee to Alberto R. Gonzales. The Aug. 1, 2002 dated document rendered wording from the Geneva Convention & a 1994 UN convention on torture to the
Through these “torture memos,” the Executive branch and the DoJ have set a precedent for interpretive denial of torture. Torture can now be described as “pressure” or “stress or duress.” Techniques to deflect criticism of torture such as extraordinary rendition (or Torture by proxy) involve transferring suspects marked for extreme interrogation to black sites. In effect, those responsible for this are making torture, of all things, politically correct.
These broad definitions leave room for all sorts of real torture and interrogation methods to be used. The Bybee and other “torture memos” include the “ticking time bomb” scenario: what should the government do, if someone with apparent first-hand knowledge of a major terrorist plot is in custody? If traditional interrogation does not yield information, should authorities torture the suspect to obtain potentially life-saving information? The DoJ’s Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo’s answer: “Well, I think in this area, I think the Justice Department had long thought that Congress couldn't limit the commander-in-chief power; that Congress cannot tell the president how to exercise his judgment as commander in chief.”
The “ticking time bomb” scenario is very unlikely to ever occur. It is also questionable what results torture would have on a person who would already be ready to die for their cause. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, former Al-Qaeda member, confessed to nearly everything under “pressure.” In the mainstream media, talk of him being torture was panned, but it is clear he was. It is also clear that torture does not yield legitimately truthful information. He was arrested in 2003, and by March of 2007, had confessed to a plot against a Plaza Bank in
Still, despite the endless debate as to whether torture could actually provide legitimate information key to saving American lives, it is wrong. It is wrong, because not only does it not yield “workable” information, but it is un-American. Yes, torturing our enemies is un-American!
Our government apparently thinks otherwise. According to our Justice Department, the decision to torture someone to obtain information would come down to the President’s decision. On Dec. 1, 2006, human rights scholar & Notre Dame professor had this exchange with John Yoo:
Yoo: No treaty.
Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.
