Black stain

On the same day the U.S. Defense Department came up with new rules forbidding the use of torture on prisoners of war, our "compassionate conservative" president came up with a plan to legalize "harsh techniques" (read: torture). These inhumane practices (from Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo) have incurred the condemnation of every human rights organization in the world, including the U.S. Supreme Court. They are a black stain on America, once the champion of human rights. Now, we are witnessing the unthinkable: a U.S. president asking Congress to ignore the Geneva Conventions and institute "harsh techniques . . . such as hypothermia, stress positions and waterboarding," according to a Sept. 10 story in the Courier-Post ("Plan would bolster CIA interrogations"). In a recent TV program, an American officer described the various tortures he personally inflicted on an ex-Iraqi general. By the time he was done with him, the man was dead. As in several similar cases, the officer has not been prosecuted. Is the use of brutality against human beings, who may or may not be guilty of anything, the best way to fight the war on terrorism? The devastating bombing raids on Baghdad and Fallujah, the torture of suspected terrorists, the moving of prisoners to foreign countries, have done nothing to bring peace to the Middle East, but have created hatred, rage and more violence. Anthony Seminara, Cherry - Published in the Courier Post, Ostober 12, 2006