No One Asked Me But…
by Dr. Larry Moses
Published April 29, 2009
No one asked me but… I am beginning to feel like I fell down the same rabbit hole that Alice did and I have now arrived in Wonderland. Two issues have hit the news that has me shaking my head. One of the events comes from the political right and one from the political left.
I was watching the ex-Vice President of the United States Dick Cheney justify the use of torture. I never thought I would see the day when the country that historically has worn the white hat would take on, and defend, the characteristics of a two bit dictatorship. Last week, I commented on the Obama administration changing the language as to the war on terrorism to the overseas contingency plan. Now the Republicans are playing the same game. Torture is no longer torture it is “enhanced interrogation”.
Call it what you will, it is still torture. Justify it if you must, it is still torture. When you see pictures of those we have taken prisoner and place the image of an American soldier in the terrorist position, tell me you would not become indignant.
Americans would be demanding those who torture, or use “enhanced interrogation” be punished. Sleep deprivation, rooms where a person must stand continually or placing a person in a painful position and forcing to remain there is torture no matter what you call it. While John McCain and I do not necessarily agree on every thing, I will accept his definition of torture over that of men who never served and never suffered.
While former Vice President Chaney justified the actions of the CIA in torturing (enhanced interrogation) because of the results, one must ask are we sure the means justifies the ends. When on 9/11 we dignified a criminal act of nineteen terrorist by giving it the status of an act of war, we also gave those involved the status of soldiers not criminals. We are therefore duty bound to treat any prisoners taken as prisoners of war.
America does not torture prisoners of war. I grew up during the WWII, the Korean War and am a Vietnam veteran. I have been fed stories of the war atrocities that the Germans, Japanese, North Koreans, Chinese and the North Vietnamese perpetrated on American Soldiers. I, as an American, could always hold the high moral ground and condemn our enemies for their barbaric acts. This is no longer the case. With the consent of the President and Congress, America joined the ranks of the petty dictators we are pledged to fight against.
What is really interesting is if the flight of 9/11 had been considered a criminal act and we had tied these men to that criminal act, we could have brought them before a judge and jury and executed them. But even then, had the government used “enhanced interrogation” methods, the testimony would have been thrown out of court.
One thing Americans courts have come to understand is that with enough “enhanced interrogation” the subject being interrogated may say anything to stop the interrogation. It might be interesting to go back and see where the intelligence came from that indicated there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Were those reports substantiated by individuals who were subjected to “enhanced interrogation”?
And now for the insanity of the liberal left that is controlling the White House presently.
The Head of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, has spent the week defending a ten page memo entitled: “Rightwing Extremism: Current Economic and Political Climate Fueling Resurgence In Radicalization and Recruitment”. It was prepared by a group called the Extremism and Radicalization Branch, Homeland Development Threat Analysis Division and coordinated with the FBI.
While there is much in the document that make sense as it speaks to the economic down turn as a possible cause in rise of extremists groups, it tries to define extremism and at that point it gets interesting. Many of you will remember Bill Clinton’s Attorney General, Janet Reno, defined a cultist during the Waco fiasco as follows: “ is one who has a strong belief in the Bible and the second coming of Christ; who frequently attends Bible studies; who has a high level of financial giving to a Christian cause; who home schools their children; who has accumulated survival foods and has a strong belief in the Second Amendment; and who distrust big government. Any of these may qualify a person as a cultist but certainly more than one of these would cause us to look at this person as a threat and his family as being in a risk situation that qualifies for government interference”.
Now meet Janet Naplitano, “Rightwing extremism in the United States can be broadly divided into those groups, movements, and adherents that are primarily hate-oriented (based on hatred of particular religious, racial or ethnic groups) and those that are mainly anti-government, rejecting federal authority in favor of state or local authority, or rejecting government authority entirely. It may include groups and individuals that are dedicated to a single issue such as opposition to abortion or immigration.” She further sees a threat because of the passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing challenges of reintegrating into the communities.
The returning veteran is a major target of this document. There appears to be a fear on the part of this administration of the armed military trained citizen. We used to call these men patriots. I suppose we could do as the Romans did and not allow soldiers who had fought on the frontiers to return to Rome but force them to settle outside the country. France did this with the French Foreign Legion. There is something inherently wrong with a nation that fears it citizens.
Right wing extremism has never caused the problems in America that the left wing extremists have. If you look at the riots throughout American history they did not come from the right but the left. First of all the right has been much too comfortable economically to risk losing what they have in open rebellion. Man does not seek freedom he seeks comfort. Most violent protest in America comes from the “have not’s” and those have traditionally been on the left. When the liberal left gets upset, you have the Los Angeles and Detroit riots. When the radical right gets upset you get e-mails sent to talk show hosts written in capital letters.
This report also centered on the economic causation for radicalization and that was enough said. If you keep the American population fat and happy with their toys, there would be no fear of an uprising from the left or right. Solve the economic woes of America and no one will care if the President is black, blue or yellow. The only color that really upsets America is green and as long as they have some, they will be happy.
Thought of the week… Is this not madness? The Lord’s Prayer is 66 words, the Gettysburg Address is 286 words, there are 1,322 words in the Declaration of Independence, but government regulations on the sale of cabbage total 26,911 words. ~National Review
