Here’s a question. What if the United States knew that a plane loaded with explosives was headed on a suicide mission toward some target. What if the United States had in custody a man who knew which plane it was and what the target was. What if that man wouldn’t give up that information. What should we be allowed to do to get that information out of him?
My answer… nothing but ask the questions.I can hear people howling now. At least both my normal readers. “WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!?! THEY’RE GOING TO KILL PEOPLE!!! BEAT HIM, PUT HIM ON THE RACK, JUST GET THE ANSWERS!!!”
But let me explain.
A person or a nation are only as good as their conduct under the most extreme stress. It’s not enough to say that we don’t torture, unless there’s no other choice. It’s not enough to say that we don’t torture, except under the most dire circumstances.
George Washington famously ordered that prisoners of war be treated “with humanity.” He gave this order despite the fact that Americans who were captured in the Revolutionary War were routinely executed. He gave the order to differentiate his cause from the cause of his enemies.
Is there any doubt that a U.S. soldier captured by Al Qaeda would be tortured? Of course not. But imagine for a moment if he were not. Imagine if he were treated “with humanity.” Imagine if he were clothed, fed, and spoken to with respect by his captors. Imagine that he were released at some point. What message would he bring back to the United States about Al Qaeda? Would that message sway public opinion? Would it change the perception of this brutal terrorist organization? What if every U.S. soldier who was captured came back with the same story? Imagine the eventual impact.
If the war on terror is a conflict that will rage for decades, perhaps generations, then this point is even more relevant. Imagine if every detainee who has been released from Guantanamo Bay had returned to his home country with a tale of humane, respectful treatment. Imagine if the world media were full of tales of how upstanding and transparent the United States had behaved in its treatment of prisoners. Imagine if every detainee had formed the kind of bond with his captors that Japanese prisoners often formed with U.S. interrogators such as Otis Cary in World War II. Read the link, it is more illuminating than I could be in 5,000 more words. But imagine how much different the current climate in the world would be for Americans.
The simple fact is that if we sacrifice our ideals for our safety, then there is nothing left that is worth protecting. A great nation is a vulnerable one. Not because it wants to be, but because it knows that it cannot be open without being vulnerable. It also knows that to be open is most of the journey toward being great. Of course vulnerability means that occasionally innocent people will die. But who ever said terrorists were the only ones who had to sacrifice for their cause?
February 26th, 2008 at 9:35 pm
[...] fact that my politics lean pretty heavily liberal. If you need any proof of that, take a look at my opinion on the ethics of torture. So tonight’s MSNBC debate should be required viewing for me. But I’m not watching. [...]