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Recreational? Who said it was recreational??? The purpose was to break them for interrogation purposes, which is a valid military objective.
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The prosecution at the Graner trial for one. The claim is that most of the Abu Gharib abuses occured at the perogative of the soldiers involved, and was for their benifit and entertainment.
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As for dehumanizing the enemy, THEIR conduct has dehumanized them, and they must pay the price for their conduct.
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This is exactly the argument that is THE problem of excusing torture. Where the hell are you going to stop? Is the goal to actually win a peace? Or to rightously hand out death until there's nothing left? If you operate by the standards of the worst...there won't be anything worth fighting for. It's just a random choice. Do i want the violence of a theocratic assholes who slice people's heads off? Or do i prefer the violence of a state that tortures prisoners?
What kind of fucked up choice is that? I'll make compromises, and acknowledge the unfortunate pragmatism necessary to survive. But when the choice is how i want my human rights abuses, i think it's high time to wake up and seek a new way.