Torture Apologists Are The Worst Kind Of Americans

Torture apologists comprise approximately half of the U.S. population according to a recent poll. I wonder if these people ever had a civics class or know anything about the history of the United States. I have a feeling that a large percentage of these apologists are republicans and a large subset are the same ones that will defend ANYTHING a republican administration does and try to sell a rationale for it, no matter how preposterous it is.

Their arguments fall apart on every level. Here is my summary of why the United States does not torture (at least until we had a rogue presidency):

What has always separated us from many other countries in the world is our unwavering respect for human rights, the rule of law, and our basic humanity. It has NEVER been demonstrated that the information received from torture is better than other PROVEN, LEGAL methods. In fact, there is overwhelming evidence that it yields far inferior results and produces a lot of completely false information. Chasing down these false leads wastes valuable intelligence assets which could be used on real, accurate leads.

If you support the United States using torture then you, by default, also support "open season" on our troops when they are captured by other countries. You MUST remain silent and you have NO right to protest as their heads are slammed into walls, they are waterboarded 200 times a month, and are deprived of sleep for 11 days at a time with their hands shackled above their heads. The military understands this and for this reason they are opposed to the U.S. using these illegal methods. Don't say you "support the troops" if you support torture because you really don't support the troops.

We are signatories to international agreements which outlaw these practices. We have prosecuted others for using the exact same methods approved by President Bush. And here is an exact quote from President Bush in 2003:

"The United States is committed to the worldwide elimination of torture and we are leading this fight by example. I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture and in undertaking to prevent other cruel and unusual punishment."
Click here for the link to the article in the Washington Post.

How can a man who stood up and said this in front of the world go on to approve the use of torture? I say we follow HIS WORDS by investigating and prosecuting all acts of torture.