The United Nations’ top human rights official said Friday that waterboarding — a tactic used by the U.S. in its battle against terror — qualifies as torture. The Bush administration acknowledged for the first time this week that it waterboarded al-Qaida detainees. Vice President Dick Cheney said it was “a good thing” that the prisoners had been forced to give up helpful information. [source]
Well now that the UN has spent time, energy and money debating whether strapping someone down and pouring water over his cloth-covered face to create the sensation of drowning is actually considered torture, we can all rest easy. Next up on the agenda: the questionable legitimacy of crocodile shears.
The UN can be so cute sometimes.
UNfortunately, this all comes in the midst of that US confession of actually using this technique. And aside from Cheney’s Martha Stewart moment back there, I say unfortunately because this reminds me of the Abu Ghreib scandal. The Americans simply handed over the jails to the Iraqis who have arguably done more damage.
In other words, admitting that waterboarding is a technique they use might mean they’ll have to stop doing it and hand the job over to someone else.
I wonder who.
Anyways, is it just me or does anyone see the irony in the fact that the US is engaged in these acts as a way to fight terror? It’s akin to Israel annexing land and homes in order to defend itself.
But hey, sometimes a good offense is the best defense, right?
You gotta watch “Taxi to the dark side” it’s bone chilling and it also draws the same connection between water boarding, Guantanamo .. and Abu Ghraib
As for who’s doing the torture now question, there’s no need to wonder, it has been outsourced to US “Allies” with questionable record of human rights. You don’t have to look far
Waterboarding is torture, yes.
But I want to point out that a UN official is not “the UN”. He’s just a UN employee, and when he states an opinion he speaks for nobody but himself. Sorry, I just can’t take any more people saying “the UN” or “the EU” says such an such, because one person decided to go and rant at the press. That’s like saying “the US” says so and so, because one Congressman says something to a journalist. If it didn’t get voted on and formally approved, it means nothing.
ok i clicked through the link about crocodile shears … and i wish i hadn’t … OUCH!!!
how did you come across the term … just curious 😀
But the question is : if you were the president of the US of A, and you had solid intelligence that a dirty bomb will go off in new york or L.A, will you approve such acts?
24 is part of politics in the US..
Don’t worry torture is still alive and well, and as qwaider said, don’t look far away..
Indeed, when it comes torture, we only have to look as far as our own backyards.
As we read about at any of these self-defeating tactics of torture, one concludes, as Caleb Carr would say “humanity has progressed very little over the last two thousand years.”
Disturbing.
Great post Naseem!
This very argument was used in the movie I mentioned above. And guess what, the answer simply was “Show me a single incident in history that this has happened, and that torture actually made a difference”
people: when i said “I wonder who”….i wasn’t really wondering 😉