Posted by Damozel | The argument between McCain and Giuliani over the use of "harsh interrogation techniques" can be summed up as follows: (1) McCain, having endured them, is against their use by the government; and (2) Giuliani, having successfully used "harsh interrogation techniques" as a prosecutor, is for their use in certain circumstances.
“When someone says waterboarding is similar to harsh interrogation techniques used against the mafia in New York City, they do not have enough experience to lead our military,” McCain said Sunday night at a town-hall meeting here.
McCain, a leading critic of attorney-general nominee Michael B. Mukasey’s refusal to define waterboarding as illegal, was responding to comments made Friday by Giuliani in which the former U.S. attorney – in broad, unspecific terms – appeared to defend the practice.
“Intensive questioning works,” Giuliani told Bloomberg TV. “If I didn't use intensive questioning, there would be a lot of Mafia guys running around New York right now, and crime would be a lot higher in New York than it is.”(Political Intelligence)
Here's hoping Bill Kurtis follows up on that intriguing revelation about New York criminal procedure as applied by Giuliani. In the meantime, McCain has followed up by taking a slap at "people who chose to do other things" while he was a POW in Vietnam. ”(Political Intelligence)
It's funny: despite my ever increasing dislike of Giuliani, I always sincerely respected him for his crusade against organized crime. I still remember reading articles about him and admiring him for his courage as much for his ingenuity. Fair play: pursuing the mob may not be as dangerous as being a POW in Vietnam, but it's much more dangerous than anything most of us will ever undertake.
I suppose I never asked myself about the methods being employed to get the information he used to carry out his crusade. And now that I do know, it matters to me.
It matters to me for the same reason that it matters to me whether my government uses waterboarding to get information out of "enemy combatants" or suspected terrorists: it matters because it's wrong. If you bend the rule of law in order to deal with criminals or enemy combatants, you place yourself on the same level with them. Throughout our history as a people, we've been evolving our concept of who the good guy is. He's the one who plays fair even when others don't; who won't shoot the bad guy in the back; who won't use bullying or cruelty to achieve his own ends not only because it's wrong, but because it's cowardly. He recognizes that some principles are worth risking your life for or even dying for. He won't cut corners or do what's expedient to save his own skin. If he did so in a moment of anger or duress, he'd never stop feeling ashamed.
He's also us, or at least---in the pre-Bauer, pre-video game days----what we aspired to be. We became great by being better than our enemies even when we had the upper hand----by scorning short-cuts and techniques that we would not wish to have used against ourselves or our loved ones.
It makes me sick to hear my fellow Americans screaming that their security means more to them than any principle and that a little torture in a good cause is acceptable to them. My mother's generation put their lives on the line in defense of their country. It makes me nauseated to find that my generation is a generation which includes a substantial proportion of bullies, cowards, and wimps who ask of their country only that it protect them at all costs.
Giuliani and other Republicans who share his views would have you believe that it is "anti-American" to take a firm stand on torture, to insist on a bright line, and to refuse to allow wavering or loopholes. Don't listen to him. Rejecting a policy that endangers our troops and our core values is the most pro-American thing stand you can take. We're better than that. Despite the brayings of a few bullies who put their own safety before any other principle, we still are.
Others disagree. Check out Memeorandum here.
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Romney's Pick for National Security Adviser Would Torture 'in a Heartbeat.'
I say 'Torture'; You Say 'Harsh Interrogation Techniques'.... (Updated)
LINKED
Torture debate between McCain, Giuliani, gets personal (Political Intelligence)
Hard Days for the Mafia (TIME 2001)
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