[DEBATE] : US Officials: Torture Confessions Not Proven Useful

[Riaz K Tayob]

But for the sake of God, there goes God?

I am not sure, but I do no know one thing, that American Exceptionalism 
(that they did not have to sign international conventions because they 
have a great system - the best in the world?!) is not what it used to 
be, neither is 'manifest destiny'... perhaps it is time they considered 
that torture is in fact a bad thing, again... and adopt some modicum of 
civilised behaviour... but what do we get? we get Blackwater's Eric 
Prince funding "24 hour"s on TV and the Brits "Spooks" indirectly 
showing people how necessary it is to torture people to save "our way of 
life" which coincidently "they hate" leading to trivial "why do they 
hate us" media psychology instead of reporting...I guess this is the 
same system that convinced American's to buy rubbish American cars for 
so long...

and of course all this in a context of a human rights discourse 
dominated by the likes of Human Rights Watch that is actually soft on 
illegal renditions (lets not call it state sanctioned international 
kidnapping and sometimes torture) and a peace in Darfur movement (peace 
that is essential and necessary) that was quite quiet on the illegal 
invasion of Iraq... what a country...

Alan Murphy wrote:
> During medieval times of gynocide and inquisition it was necessary to
> torture even if a confession had already been obtained. This is
> because there was an acceptance of life as preordained, unlike the
> modern concepts of free choice where a Christian is saved through a
> personal decision to rather not take a default agnostic position.
>
> So in those ancient times a person was naturally Christian and
> anything other was due to possession or divine torment. This needed
> much brute force and not mere prayer to assuage - the idea being that
> life was cruel and short and such measures were thus not exceptional
> and indeed of great help in reaching the better option in the
> hereafter, since the reason for the possession or torment must have
> been sin.
>
> The family of the condemned, especially the children, had to view the
> execution and pay for the wood for the fire and the torturers fees.
>
> The concept of a lack of free will is in line with certain biblical
> passages; for example Pharaoh was about to let the Israelites go when
> God intervened and hardened his heart. But what happened to the
> Americans?
>
> Alan
>
>
> On 3/31/09, Riaz K Tayob <riaz.tayob at gmail.com> wrote:
>   
>> [and torture does not affect the prosecution, a "fair trial" still
>> follows... banana anyone...]
>>
>> Officials: Torture Confessions Not Proven Useful
>>     
>