Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Ustwo
This was a very valid concept in WWII when it came to US/UK prisoners and German POW's. I read that the US did have a secret facility that did in fact use psychological type of torture on key German POW's and the greatest fear was Germany would find out and do the same. I don't know if this is true, but over all this gentileman's agreement held true. US prisoners were as a hole very well kept by the Germans, and we kept the German prisoners well too. Now when it came to the German/Russian prisoners or the Japanese/US ones, thats a different story.
Sadly this has absolutely no baring on the current conflict.
On the one side we have beheading, maimings (I think fingers were mailed recently), that sort of thing, on the other side we have water boarding which incidentally was/is part of airforce SERE training.
This whole torture is wrong is easy when you are sitting at your computer desk, drinking your caffeinated beverage of choice, but then its not really your life on the line.
|
Regardless of your beverage of choice it seems the issue is a little more complex then they behead people, we water board people. First there's a very real question as to whether or not it works?:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...2005Jan11.html
It works great for Jack on "24." But that's TV and not real life. Many US veterans, including John McCain, who have suffered torture at the hands of the enemy have said not only that we shouldn't be doing it, but that it's not effective.
Then there's the question of is it legal?:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...201170_pf.html
Kind of hard to claim what we're doing is legal when we executed several Japanese soldiers for this very behavior.