USA says: We do not torture, do not make it illegal!

[iago]

Really?  Or are you just trying to totally deny the credibility of any news source?  Sounds like a good way of proving a statement, making any source of information uncredible, what are we left with?

Pretty much. Its rare to see a news source that gives both sides of any story. If they aren't going to give the full story then they aren't really all that credible in the first place.

Then were do you suggest obtaining information from? We obviously can't all be everywhere, and we can't trust anybody, so how can we know what's real, and what's true, or what to believe?  Everybody has an agenda, no matter how innocent they seem.

[CrAz3D]

Listen to the news & realize that it isnt the full truth?

[dxoigmn]

Jail isn't suppose to be fun or a walk in the park. It should be uncomfortable and such, otherwise what is there to fear?

Umm...loss of freedom? I don't know about you but I like to be able to eat when ever the hell I feel like it. Putting someone's underwear on their head is torture. Do remember you're dealing with a different culture with different ways of thinking about things. While you may not believe putting underwear on your head is torture, others might think of it as being worse than death.

[mynameistmp]

Amerika is WRONG to be in Iraq even if Suddam Hussein was a sadistic brute.

Did you spell that wrong as a joke ?

Anyways, torturing people is wrong. It might lead to some sort of personal gain in some situations, but I'd still never do it. Having good morals is a virtue.

[Grok]

No joke.  Amerika is among the most communistic of countries.  We are more Marxist than the Soviet Union ever succeeded in becoming.  There is more doubletalk coming from "our government" than the politburo (sp) had ever spewed forth even on May Day.

[Adron]

This also means that you should not be upset when the other side is doing it. I.e. when American soldiers are captured and tortured, do not make an outcry. It is just a legitimate, expected business that will happen to those who choose to join a war.

No.  I don't think it's legitimate or expected business.  They made it the practice.  We did not.

Well now, if it was not something that was appropriate to be doing, then it should be illegalized, right?

Surely an American soldier would have lots of information helpful to his captors, information that could best be obtained by slow skinning with a dull knife? American soldiers may well have information on troop movements or plans for deadly assaults on Osama bin Ladin. And if they claim they know nothing about those plans, they are probably just well trained in keeping secrets, and need some more treatment with the icy cold water, cattle prod and bull whip.

[Grok]

That is correct Adron.  In addition to current battle plans, we all knew how we were trained.  If we repaired electronics, we know a lot of their capabilities and what causes them to break often.  We knew how to test them, what the tolerances were, and how to mess them up easily.  We must, as the single superpower, ban torture from our abilities.  Especially because we are the only superpower anyone who opposes us feels helpless to use conventional measures.  If they know we have torture as an option on top of the usual American tyranny, oppression, imperialism and interference, those helpless people with an agenda will go much further to succeed against otherwise impossible odds.  I see Amerika as destroying itself both inside out and outside in.  If it lasts 40 more years with the current level of tyranny, I will be surprised.  Technology is too good already for the US to remain safe from individuals.  In the past we only had to worry about country-states.

[hismajesty]

This also means that you should not be upset when the other side is doing it. I.e. when American soldiers are captured and tortured, do not make an outcry. It is just a legitimate, expected business that will happen to those who choose to join a war.

No.  I don't think it's legitimate or expected business.  They made it the practice.  We did not.

Well now, if it was not something that was appropriate to be doing, then it should be illegalized, right?

Surely an American soldier would have lots of information helpful to his captors, information that could best be obtained by slow skinning with a dull knife? American soldiers may well have information on troop movements or plans for deadly assaults on Osama bin Ladin. And if they claim they know nothing about those plans, they are probably just well trained in keeping secrets, and need some more treatment with the icy cold water, cattle prod and bull whip.

And that's why American soldiers that hold anything of value are equipped with cyanide capsules.

[Arta]

What's that got to do with anything?

[hismajesty]

What's that got to do with anything?

It's in response to the last paragraph of Adron's post, they're instructed to commit suicide so as to avoid being put in a situtation where they could be tortured or leak information.

[Grok]

So the solution to not being tortured is suicide, and that's Amerika's more civilized answer?  How are you OK with this?

Frist told reporters Thursday that while he believed illegal activity should not take place at detention centers, he believes the leak itself poses a greater threat to national security and is "not concerned about what goes on" behind the prison walls.

"My concern is with leaks of information that jeopardize your safety and security -- period," Frist said. "That is a legitimate concern."

Just incredible that we have leaders who think this way.  But since we apparently have citizens who think the same way, I guess that's how.

[Zorm]

So what makes you think that just because America bans something that the enemy will ban it too?

These are people who cut off peoples heads and video tape it. The fact that America is being the 'better' country will have zero effect on them.

I've never heard of American Soldiers being told to commit suicide before capture Trust. I believe that whatever information you have on this is rather wrong. Pilots flying U2s had cyanide pills but were given the option of using them in the event of capture. AFIAK the normal infantry member isn't given cyanide pills.

Also, should realize that Grok has a rather messed up view on just about everything. After all he said we should fight suicide bombers with suicide bombers.

[hismajesty]

I've never heard of American Soldiers being told to commit suicide before capture Trust. I believe that whatever information you have on this is rather wrong. Pilots flying U2s had cyanide pills but were given the option of using them in the event of capture. AFIAK the normal infantry member isn't given cyanide pills.

Yeah, I was talking about people (and said this) that hold information (such as special ops, Seals for instance.) I don't know if they're INSTRUCTED to use them, but just supplying them with them certainly to me is an implication that they would prefer you commit suicide than undergo the torture.

[Adron]

Yeah, I was talking about people (and said this) that hold information (such as special ops, Seals for instance.) I don't know if they're INSTRUCTED to use them, but just supplying them with them certainly to me is an implication that they would prefer you commit suicide than undergo the torture.

Absolutely. My point is that the enemy will torture every american soldier, because there is no difference between someone really not knowing anything and someone resisting the torture.

[Arta]

So what makes you think that just because America bans something that the enemy will ban it too?

That's completely not the point. Like I said, the point is that we practice what we preach. That we behave in accordance with our values. That we maintain our integrity and credibility with the rest of the world.

If we don't, everything we say is meaningless, and will be perceived as such.