The Pendragon's Hall

Oh this is good: the American Red Cross has listed several abuses "tantamount to torture". Anyone note what they are? Threats of execution, hooding, humiliation and brutality. That last one I grant you should not be going on and the perpetrators should be punished. But humiliation and threats of execution used, horror of horrors, to "prompt confession"? What the heck are interrogators supposed to do? "See this candy bar, Mohammed? If you tell me what I want to know, it can be yours." Give me a break. Threats have always been used in interrogation...they're effective. In fact, the US and Great Britain have found it particularly effective to threaten to turn terror suspects over to the Jordanian police, who use physical "pressure" to gain confessions. No doubt the Red Cross would find this "tantamount to torture" as well.

The rest of the world is laughing at us, not for the reason the media suspects, that they can't believe our atrocity, but because they can't believe our naivety. During the Watergate scandal, when the American media was stunned, the media in China and Russia (whose leaders did that sort of thing for a living) was like, "So what?" They're doing the same today, you had better believe. Yes, the United States needs to end this abuse of prisoners, but don't act like this is the first time it's ever been done or even that the rest of the world is that concerned about it. The only thing most of them like is that it is weakening the will of the people to fight this just war on terror.