pablo: I definitely agree with the sentiment that our following certain rules of conduct won’t affect the way al Qaeda treats US or Western POWs one iota. I doubt very much that our admittedly abhorrent behavior at Abu Ghraib was the motive factor behind Daniel Pearl being decapitated.
That being said, I would also say from personal experience that allowing American soldiers to freely use torture and questionable interrogation techniques degrades not only the soldiers involved, but the entire military. Having participated in interrogations, I will tell you that you gain more valuable intel with a pot of coffee and a couple of packs of cigarettes than you ever gain with torture. Are there hard cases out there that won’t give up information no matter what? Yup. And that is where it gets tricky. Alan Dershowitz wrote an excellent article regarding the approved use of torture in a situation (“the ticking bomb” scenario) where a detainee had information regarding a bomb that would kill thousands of Americans and the only way to get this information is through torture. Hard to argue that one away, but it does put you on the slippery slope.
As of late we’ve seen some pretty deplorable practices used by American personnel to gain information. We pay lip service to “we don’t torture”, but we all know about rendition. I do think it demeans us in the eyes of the world, and rightfully so. However, there will always be certain circumstances where it proves necessary. I’m not smart enough to pretend to know where that line is.
I realize this is more of a non-answer than an answer, but, as a former soldier, it is wrenching to watch we’ve become, what with places like Gitmo and Abu Ghraib. I know we are fighting a determined opponent that does not play by the rules, but I also know the dangers when you start trading civil liberties for “security”. The current climate of “you are either with us, or against us” reeks of a nascent fascism and our inability as a nation to remember the importance of those freedoms we are losing is alarming, to say the least.
I think we close Gitmo. I think we stop renditions. I think we allow soldiers in the field to make decisions regarding interrogations, but give them clear guidelines as to what is and is not acceptable. As careworn and clunky as the Geneva Conventions are, they’re better than no alternative at all.
