So, confidentiality and the war on terror. I get it. Some things need to stay classified. But there needs to be a way of determining and enforcing that secrets are actually, you know, secret-worthy, and not just people in the govt or armed forces trying to cover their asses. Cause, you know, that's not cool and stuff.
Case in point: Mike Spann. It's two months shy of five years since Spann was killed, and the CIA
still won't tell his parents how he died. Now, I'll fully admit to not having worked for "the Agency". I don't even watch it on TV. So it's possible there's something here I'm missing. But I don't see how, half a decade after the revolt at Mazar-e-Sharif, there could be that much sensitive info for evildoers to exploit.
And then there's this secret prison thing. Again, I get the idea- but this really doesn't sit well with me. First of all, I don't see why the prisons had to be secret- it made no practical difference. Khalid Sheikh Omar was still sitting in a cell.
There's the torture stuff- not cool. Yes, I am glad we are not pulling body parts off, but waterboarding is right on the line of acceptability, and I'm not sure that it isn't crossing the line,
either. Yes, I realize these are bad people. Awful. Evil. And we're getting information that's saving lives. But... damn. I just don't know.
Tie the CIA's hands? No. Use all means at our disposal? I can't make that call. But politicians and agency vets should be looking at this information and making clear-cut distinctions on what is and isn't permissable. Should the US follow international law? What happens if we don't? These are important questions and conversations to have, but we aren't talking about them, instead we're getting into mudslinging bullshit all over again.
And please- stop the BS doublespeak. People supporting these programs should at least have the balls to call it by its name- sorry Mr. O'Reilly, but yes, waterboarding is torture,
keeping someone up for however long without sleep is torture, too. It doesn't matter if you don't think it counts as torture, it meets the legal definition of it. (You also don't think certain things count as sexual harassment *cough*) It's immaterial. This is not a matter of opinion, but of law. Now, if we want to talk about breaking the law, that's one thing, but we have to at least start by acknowledging what the hell we're doing in the first place. Covering up the real discussion with crap like "Coerced interrogation" and "Persuasive force" is counterproductive. Call it what it is. Torture. No, it's not a nice word, but if you're going to advocate using it, at least have the honesty to call it what it is.
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