Nov. 28, 2005 - 17:55 MST

FORGOTTEN AND FADE AWAY ?

The Eugene Register-Guard has an article in the editorial pages which has run for quite some time. Same words each day, the only difference is a two digit number. I quote today's in full:

'WE DO NOT TORTURE'

"It has been 20 days since President Bush declared at a news conference in Panama that "we do not torture." Yet the president maintains his threat to veto a defense spending bill because it contains language written by Sen. JOhn McCain, R-Ariz., banning the "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody."

"In addition to the profound moral and legal arguments against the use of torture , there is a pragmatic reason it should be shunned. One well-documented effect of torture is that people will say or do anything to escape the situation, rendering informaion provided under torture extremely unreliable. Torture victims also offer untrue "confessions" and readily implicate innocent people, who may well then be tortured in turn."

"Illegal, immoral, unreliable -- what more does President Bush need to know about torture?"

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To m e the nitty gritty of the situation is that even if true information can be squeezed out of a prisoner by torture THERE IS NO ETHICAL, MORAL OR RELIGIOUS right to do so. It is wrong to torture, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Obviously the world is not full of Pollyannas and the countries that have used torture from time immemorial will continue to do so. With all the foreign prisons of the ?CIA? overseas where subjects of rendition are taken to apparently be tortured, just how damn much good has it done ? What have we learned if anything ?

I repeat what I have said in the past, "Are we becoming such low creatures as any enemy against us, when we resort to cruel, inhuman and degrading practises against humans who are helpless to help themselves, even by good behavior.

Why can't citizens of our country who have been tortured overseas be heeded ?

I wonder what is in Mr. Bush's mind ? Is he going to trade not vetoing the defense spending bill for something that will have a more harmful effect on we the people ? Like NO TAXES for the rich and corporations ? Faith based everything -- as long as it is HIS faith ? Mess up Medicare more ? Open our borders wider yet ? or does he feel that this will blow over. and be FORGOTTEN AND FADE AWAY ? . . . . . . . . . .

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