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No One Asked Me But… (December 17, 2014)

By DR. LARRY MOSES

No one asked me but… A euphemism is a polite expression used in place of words or phrases that otherwise might be considered harsh or unpleasant to hear. America in its search for nice words to cover evil deeds has become the euphemism capital of the world. In this age of political correctness, no one can call an action by its real name.

War is no longer war; it is an “overseas contingency.” There may be some merit to this since America has not declared war since 1941. Presently a number of people have declared war on the United States but America has failed to declare war on them. This reminds me of when I was a kid I would get mad at my older brother and attack. He would merely ward off my aggressions until he tired of it and he would move on. That is what America has done in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and will do with ISIS.

The women and children killed by drone strikes launched against terrorist leaders are “collateral damage.” Those who have crossed our borders illegally are not illegal aliens, they are “undocumented workers.” Abortion is merely “pregnancy termination.”

Rogue States are “outliers” and terrorist attacks, like 911, are “man-made disasters.” A religious fanatic practicing jihad, as he attacked and killed American service men on an American military base, was not engaged in an act of terrorism, he is merely involved in “work place violence.” A politician does not lie to his constituents, he merely engages in “disinformation.” The electrical shock from a Tazer is a “stress producing stimulus.” A short person is “vertically challenged.” Soon a burglar will be called an “uninvited evening guest engaged in inventory leakage.”

The drug dealer will be “an unlicensed pharmaceutical salesman.”
Washington, D.C.’s euphemism for torture is “Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.” The Democrat members of Congress sponsored a committee report on torture techniques used by the Central Intelligence Agency. The CIA, in its attempt to protect the country from terrorist attacks, engaged in what they call Enhanced Interrogation Techniques. However, no matter what you call it, this is torture. If these same Enhanced Interrogation Techniques were used on American Prisoners of War, we as a country would be screaming like scalded dogs.

Senator John McCain, who lived through years of torture in North Vietnam, says this is torture and he is the only one in Congress who can, from experience, tell you what is and what is not torture. Senator McCain stated that one cannot rely on intelligence learned while a prisoner is being tortured. He contends the prisoner will tell the torturer whatever he wants to hear to stop the pain. This may well explain why no Weapons of Mass Destruction were found in Iraq. The intelligence may have been collected using Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.

I will not argue the effectiveness of torture. However, I will argue the hypocrisy of America engaging in the practice. After World War II, the Nuremburg War Crimes Tribunal was seated at the insistence of the United States. Over the objections of European countries, this court was established to punish those who tortured and killed eleven million people they considered members of inferior races. We are still rounding up German prison guards and punishing them for these crimes against humanity committed over seventy years ago.

The droning of terrorist sometimes necessitates another euphemism, “collateral damage.” For some reason Democrats feel that “neutralizing” (a euphemism for killing) a terrorist with a drone strike is okay, but torture is not. I am aware that these jihadists have declared war on the United States. I really don’t have any sympathy for these terrorist or those around them. However, let’s call it what it is. We are killing women and children along with terrorist; they are not “collateral damage”, they are women and children. Knocking a house down is “collateral damage.” However, to say “collateral damage” occurred as we “pacified” a terrorist threat doesn’t sound as evil as women and children were killed as we destroyed a terrorist threat.

A Marine Sergeant is charged with murder when he and his squad returned fire into a house and killed women and children along with the terrorists who occupied the house. In contrast, an F-18 pilot can bomb a house from 10,000 feet killing the same number of women and children and he is not charged because they are just “collateral damage.” A nineteen year old, sitting in Nevada can fly a drone in Afghanistan sending a missile to a location that may or may not house a terrorist leader, killing everyone within, and that is okay with the Democrats civil for the casualties are just “collateral damage.” For some reason Diane Feinstien finds the act of water boarding more abhorrent than a deadly blast of a hellfire missile.

One must begin to wonder about the nation’s course of action when China, North Korea, and Iran look at the United States and shake their heads at the immorality of America’s actions. When America takes on the practices of countries like these, it leaves the United States with no moral ground with which to condemn the actions of these barbaric nations. When a person or a nation sets itself up as the guardian of morality, it must not turn from that morality in the time of crisis. The true nature of a man or a nation is found in the time of crisis not the time of prosperity. I can remember more than once my father telling me that I must not do something even though others did it and it was expedient to do so. The only rationale given for me not doing so was Moses’ don’t do that kind of thing. Why should America not torture prisoners? The fact that we are Americans is reason enough.

Thought of the week…Torture has been defined by Article I of the Torture Convention as “Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purpose as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession.” (Huhn, 2008)

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1 thought on “No One Asked Me But… (December 17, 2014)”

  1. I agree with Dr. Moses on his assessment of “torture”, by our country, or others.

    I do wonder if Senator Feinstein and the others concerned about “torture” being used by the CIA, care about the most egregious form of “toruture” used in America, and seemingly not a concern to our government.

    Each year in the United States a Million or more babies are “tortured” while in their mother’s womb.

    These babies are poisoned, ripped apart, their skulls penetrated and other heinous acts, all for convenience.

    When we stop “torturing” and killing innocent children in the womb, then maybe we can start finding fault with the CIA for doing what they do.

    Both, in practice, are government, and to some degree, publicly sanctioned.

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