The American conscience

[speaker]

It seems to me that America needs to reestablish her principles to recoup our credibility in the eyes of the world.
We are a wonderful country, but we've lost a lot of respect and admiration. We need these things to survive. There's a high road and there's a low road. The way we take reflects on every part of our lives.

Laws have been broken and stretched and ignored and it's the little guy who is impacted the most. He gets less money to live on while the cost of living goes up. He does the hard dirty work while others make the huge profits. He dies earlier because he doesn't have access to the expert health care the rich do. He loses pensions for his old age while the guy at the top gets millions in retirement. He sends his children off to war while the wealthy and their offspring go on vacation.

The US can defend herself and still have a clear conscience. But the Bush administration won't or can't see this side. Instead, reacting to paranoia and hysteria, they would rather become the villain instead of defeating the villain.
As far as the standards of torture being decided upon by a few men in Washington, this should be taken to the world courts to be decided. We are in a global neighborhood and so should attend to these issues in a global manner.

Part of the article from:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14858107/

ANALYSIS
By R. Jeffrey Smith
The Washington Post
Updated: 5:36 a.m. ET Sept. 16, 2006

"On the surface, Bush's proposal requires that interrogations in the previously secret CIA prison system comply with legal rules written by Congress last year. Privately, the administration has concluded that doing so would allow the CIA to keep using virtually all the interrogation methods it has employed for the past five years, the officials said."

Time to rid ourselves of this weak and cowardly aberration in our country's conscience, and begin yet again to strive to be the strong and moral nation we once were.

[speaker]

http://www.globalsecurity.org/intell/library/policy/army/fm/fm34-52/chapter1.htm

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PROHIBITION AGAINST USE OF FORCE

The use of force, mental torture, threats, insults, or exposure to unpleasant and inhumane treatment of any kind is prohibited by law and is neither authorized nor. condoned by the US Government. Experience indicates that the use of force is not necessary to gain the cooperation of sources for interrogation. Therefore, the use of force is a poor technique, as it yields unreliable results, may damage subsequent collection efforts, and can induce the source to say whatever he thinks the interrogator wants to hear. However, the use of force is not to be confused with psychological ploys, verbal trickery, or other nonviolent and noncoercive ruses used by the interrogator in questioning hesitant or uncooperative sources.

The psychological techniques and principles outlined should neither be confused with, nor construed to be synonymous with, unauthorized techniques such as brainwashing, mental torture, or any other form of mental coercion to include drugs. These techniques and principles are intended to serve as guides in obtaining the willing cooperation of a source. The absence of threats in interrogation is intentional, as their enforcement and use normally constitute violations of international law and may result in prosecution under the UCMJ.............