tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1138570918413841323.post6859933902001311954..comments2024-02-23T03:29:54.261-05:00Comments on The Unreligious Right: Putting Ourselves in a StraightjacketUNRRhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17093711439992855042noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1138570918413841323.post-33162481488841368192010-01-05T18:01:53.421-05:002010-01-05T18:01:53.421-05:00As to the rest of your argument, as I wrote, I'...As to the rest of your argument, as I wrote, I'm not sure what, if any useful intelligence the underwear bomber possesses. In my opinion it's probably unlikely that he knows anything worthy of resorting to torture. But he may know some useful things. It would be beneficial to have the option to utilize certain methods -- short of torture, such as tricks and threats, that cannot be used on a criminal suspect. The point of the post is that by treating him as a normal criminal, we unnecessarily close off a number of possible options.<br /><br />I'm not advocating that he be tortured, although I wouldn't rule it out either.UNRRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17093711439992855042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1138570918413841323.post-77749326733560638642010-01-05T17:50:00.937-05:002010-01-05T17:50:00.937-05:00"I guess you missed the part where torture on..."I guess you missed the part where torture only has one proven utility"<br /><br />I'm sorry but that's utter nonsense. Torture has produced accurate information in a number of confirmed cases. It's an interrogation method, and like any interrogation method, its results depend on the information in question, the interrogator, and the interrogatee. Try searching for "torture" on this blog. <br /><br />The torture doesn't work argument is either ignorance, intellectual dishonesty, or denial of reality.UNRRhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17093711439992855042noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1138570918413841323.post-2353474945712340192010-01-04T22:09:44.377-05:002010-01-04T22:09:44.377-05:00I guess you missed the part where torture only has...I guess you missed the part where torture only has one proven utility - episodes of '24' and all sorts of b.s. to the contrary. Waterboarding and the like generate false confessions as the victim will say anything to get the pain to stop. Could be that his programming from when that was done to him already is part of the reason he's not 'right in the head.' That and knowing nothing will seriously stop the people who did it to him before from kidnapping him again.<br />Meantime : what kind of intelligence do you require about Yemeni separatists where the central government had their friends intervene in their civil war ?<br />Somalia. Iraq. Afghanistan. Pakistan. And on and on. There was a time when people made fun of Ronny Ray Gun for wanting to be 'World Sheriff.' These days the starving paupers targeted for air strikes are reduced to hoping that somebody behind the gunsights is afflicted with an attack of sanity.<br />You have to wonder why U.S. troops commit suicide at a much greater rate than those of other nations.opithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01621946866211400380noreply@blogger.com