I guess I shouldn't be surprised that torture apologists have trotted out a researcher from the conservative Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford to explain that really the report was a lousy piece of work. Ms. Zegart faults the Feinstein committee's, enumerating her complaints:
That's actually not a bad list -- and every one of those limitations derived from Republican obstruction. On torture, the GOP is the party of cover up, delay, and accountability denied. (The Prez hasn't been so good on that last item either.)"It was not bipartisan, took too long to write, made little effort to generate public support along the way and produced a declassified version that constituted a tiny portion of the full study..."
Unfortunately Zegart's silly tripe is being reported as if she were saying something. Reporters can be credulous beasts.
Not surprisingly all the Republican presidential hopefuls are eager for more torture, especially in the context of the current national panic. It's not just Trump; it's all of them. The Donald says he
I'm not going to try to explain that pathology.would support torturing detainees – even “if it doesn’t work” in producing valuable intelligence – simply because he thinks it’s a worthwhile thing to do.
Today, Vilma’s concern is about the limits of torture’s characterization, in particular with the forms of torture that do not leave visible traces, but still affect individuals and families.
... As crime has increased in recent years, especially in the countryside, people have been tortured for being considered supporters or accomplices of politically motivated armed groups when in fact these peasants were forced to feed guerilleros, Vilma explains.
... Vilma, who has held leading positions in international or regional human rights NGOs ... admits that it is hard to say that thanks to her work torture has diminished. On the contrary, there seems to be more torture in Nicaragua today. But at least people now know they have the right not to be tortured.
“For us our greatest success is that people have now understood the concept, and that it is a human rights violation,” she says.
1 comment:
https://theintercept.com/2015/12/04/u-s-first-shields-its-torturers-and-war-criminals-from-prosecution-now-officially-honors-them/
Obama legitimized and now rewards torture. Don't expect Hillary to be much different.
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