tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post8996941287740851197..comments2023-12-28T01:25:53.093-07:00Comments on Henry Mark Holzer: In Defense of TortureHenry Mark Holzerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09152550314383172733noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post-15979040641662090542018-05-12T19:35:59.020-06:002018-05-12T19:35:59.020-06:00Courts justifying torture of those threatening liv...Courts justifying torture of those threatening lives in order to save lives. This is good, but from talks with friends, I think it useful to emphasize:<br /><br />• That evil doers invalidate their own rights by violating the rights of others. This use of torture is retaliation against the initiation of force. <br /><br />• In the example, we see torture used in a timely manner on someone known to have the information. The person need only reveal the information to prevent torture. <br /><br />• Those engaged in torture can be brought to courts of review as to their justification, as with all police action, if questions are raised. Both the seriousness of the danger and the timeliness of the danger should be considered. <br /><br />• Finally, concocting extreme situations, such as your daughter's life against a thousand others, is irrelevant to the moral principles involved for normal life situations. The choice of your daughter against others is a personal choice, not a principle of law or general morality. Your own life against thousands is a personal choice of values, influenced by your age, health, who the thousand are, etc.<br /><br />-- Jack Gardner, jvgardner@knology.netJack Gardnerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00833056014611399989noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post-7798204315588946802018-05-11T23:38:24.269-06:002018-05-11T23:38:24.269-06:00Amen, and thanks for your comment. When I wrote th...Amen, and thanks for your comment. When I wrote that article I should have made an additional point: To the anti-torture argument that torturing "makes us just like them" the response is that it ignores the difference that their use of it is in aggressive violation of individual rights and our use of it is in vindication thereof. Henry Mark Holzer.Henry Mark Holzerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06876459982086909290noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-955008952156625930.post-51860059747681161902018-05-11T20:28:28.604-06:002018-05-11T20:28:28.604-06:00Agree completely sir.
To add an operational aspec...Agree completely sir.<br /><br />To add an operational aspect to your premise, a real life tactical point from Dr. James Mitchell, the psychologist who extracted information from KSM, the architect of 9/11/01 with water boarding, is interesting. <br /><br />Mitchell and KSM developed an intellectual adversary relationship over the course of the interrogation. Mitchell considered KSM to be a man of high intellect but evil morality.<br /><br />When KSM began providing information, he told Mitchell that it was OK since Allah in his religion said it was OK to talk when a man reached the end of his ability to withstand torture - or water boarding in this case.<br /><br />The fainting hearts in Congress and elsewhere apparently don't know that our military folks were subjected to intense torture during training in Florida and elsewhere during the Vietnam years. Water boarding is less than what our own troops experienced in training.<br /><br />I'm an ancient 80 now but recall vividly the national attitude during WWII when our very lives were in danger here at home where we had blackout curtains in the windows and followed strict wartime regulations. Combat ain't bean ball.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09893896839346560593noreply@blogger.com