[A-List] [addendum] CIA Director nominee Leon Panetta: No Torture... NoExceptions

[Leighm]

George W. Bush is a 'Shill', in case it hasn't been noted here yet.



Leigh Meyers wrote:
>
>
> Paul Wright wrote:
>
> "If Panetta were to stop the CIA from torturing people he won't keep 
> the job."
>
> That's what's gonna happen.... But it'll be fun to watch, and if the 
> media plays it right (snicker), quite informational for the US public 
> in re THEIR role in all this and the world.
>
> Leon Panetta is an anachronism in American politics.
>
> The Panetta Institute is NO School of the Americas. ...and in my 
> estimation, speaking of politics as a 'hustle, he's a 'clinker'(Slang, 
> A sour note in a performance... "hit a clinker"), not the 'shill'.
>
> Leigh
>
>
>> When is the mythical time period when the US did not engage in wholesale
>> torture and murder? The nation is founded on genocide. About 20 miles 
>> from
>> where I live is Turners Falls in Massachusetts. It is named after 
>> William
>> Turner who in the 1600s massacred over 100 naitve Americans and the
>> survivors were thrown over the water falls which bear his name.
>>
>> For an excellent history of the role of the US in training death 
>> squads and
>> military regimes in murder and torture see A.J. Languth's book Hidden
>> Terrors. Remember the Central American wars and every couple of years 
>> the
>> media would "discover" yet another CIA torture or assassination manual?
>>
>> Need we remember the Phoenix Program and the tiger cages of Viet Nam?
>> Torture is an American institution that is as American as the proverbial
>> apple pie. This is how counterinsurgency wars are fought and won and 
>> have
>> been for centuries. Governments use torture because it is surprisingl
>> effective at eliciting information and more importantly, at showing 
>> people
>> who is boss and who is running the show.
>>
>> Prison Legal News, the magazine I edit reports in every issue on the 
>> torture
>> and brutalization of American prisoners. Nothing has been reported from
>> Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib that I do not report happening here in the 
>> US on a
>> regular basis. The difference is that when the victims are social 
>> prisoners,
>> or poor criminals, no one cares.
>>
>> If Panetta were to stop the CIA from torturing people he won't keep 
>> the job.
>> And what to do with all the torturers on payroll? A mundane point, but
>> torture remains illegal. The only problem is one of impunity, not 
>> legality.
>> And nary a bleat from the Obama crew about prosecuting torturers.
>>
>> Paul Wright, Editor
>> Prison Legal News
>> P.O. Box 2420
>> West Brattleboro, VT 05303
>> 802-257-1342
>> pwright at prisonlegalnews.org
>> www.prisonlegalnews.org
>>  
>> Seattle Office:
>> 2400 NW 80th St. # 148
>> Seattle, WA 98117
>> 206-246-1022
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: a-list-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu
>> [mailto:a-list-bounces at lists.econ.utah.edu] On Behalf Of Leighm
>> Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2009 5:17 PM
>> To: The A-List
>> Subject: [A-List] CIA Director nominee Leon Panetta: No Torture...
>> NoExceptions
>>
>> As I was saying earlier:
>>
>> "According to the latest polls, two-thirds of the American public 
>> believes that torturing suspected terrorists to gain important 
>> information is justified in some circumstances. How did we transform 
>> from champions of human dignity and individual rights into a nation 
>> of armchair torturers? One word: fear.
>>
>> Fear is blinding, hateful, and vengeful. It makes the end justify the 
>> means. And why not? If torture can stop the next terrorist attack, 
>> the next suicide bomber, then what's wrong with a little 
>> waterboarding or electric shock?
>>
>> The simple answer is the rule of law. Our Constitution defines the 
>> rules that guide our nation. It was drafted by those who looked 
>> around the world of the eighteenth century and saw persecution, 
>> torture, and other crimes against humanity and believed that America 
>> could be better than that. This new nation would recognize that every 
>> individual has an inherent right to personal dignity, to justice, to 
>> freedom from cruel and unusual punishment.
>>
>> We have preached these values to the world. We have made clear that 
>> there are certain lines Americans will not cross because we respect 
>> the dignity of every human being. That pledge was written into the 
>> oath of office given to every president, "to preserve, protect, and 
>> defend the Constitution." It's what is supposed to make our leaders 
>> different from every tyrant, dictator, or despot. We are sworn to 
>> govern by the rule of law, not by brute force.
>>
>> We cannot simply suspend these beliefs in the name of national 
>> security. Those who support torture may believe that we can abuse 
>> captives in certain select circumstances and still be true to our 
>> values. But that is a false compromise. We either believe in the 
>> dignity of the individual, the rule of law, and the prohibition of 
>> cruel and unusual punishment, or we don't. There is no middle ground.
>>
>> We cannot and we must not use torture under any circumstances. We are 
>> better than that."
>>
>> http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/features/2008/0801.panetta.html
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>   
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