Immoral, Illegal, and Ineffective

From Claire at Wolfesblog:

“I'm astonished that any sophisticated, civilized nation tolerates such a foul crew leaders and aparatchiks. Torture is not what Americans do. Torture is not what America does. Not as national policy. Not as wink-wink, nod-nod. Torturers are the enemy. Who on earth can't see that?”

America’s founding document (see Amendment Vlll) specifically banned cruel and unusual punishments and so by implication, torture. That was in 1789 too. We seem to be moving backwards as a society with all this stuff like secret prisons, CIA torture exemptions, and the preposterous idea that because a captive, detainee, or EPW is outside the legal territory of the US that none our laws and traditions apply to them anymore.

--Ali Massoud