I disagree with a lot- nearly everything- that the Bush administration and the Republican Party have done lately, but I try to remain civil, and not overreach. But no longer. We need to impeach or recall and then PROSECUTE each and every member of the President's staff and the Republicans in the US House and Senate. All but McCain and the small group of retired military personnel working with him. Why? The torture of our young men and women.
If you are one of those who still say you believe these war criminals are right about ANYTHING, let me ask you for one second to be honest to yourself. Do you think that any country which knows we use torture- or "extreme measures" or whatever euphemism is currently in vogue- will not do the same to our sons and daughters? If the new rule is that the leader of each nation that has agreed to the Geneva Conventions can decide for himself what is allowed they will do so, and they CERTAINLY might allow even more than we do. OUR CHILDREN WILL BE TORTURED. IT IS SIMPLY A MATTER OF WHEN.
Giving torture new names doesn't change a thing. "Water boarding" is tossed around like it is some sort of summer sport. Actually there are several ways to "water board". The crudest is to force a person to "bob for apples" without the apples, and while tied up. The person is held under the water until all bubbling stops, showing the person is out of air but not yet inhaling water. The most common is to simply tie someone down on their back and poor water over their face so that it covers their mouth and runs into their nose. For a few second a person has all the sensations of drowning. The most psychologically cruel is the towel method. Since this is the least dangerous, I want you to try it. Right now. Follow these directions:
Fill your bathtub about half way with cold water. Lie down in it on your back,
fully clothed or completely naked. Both are used so that the person is
alternately more helpless and more embarrassed. Take a soaking wet towel and lay
it over your face. Now PRETEND your hands are tied behind your back. You will
notice that if you breathe out VERY slowly the towel will move away from your
mouth or nose and you will be able to inhale, again very slowly. You might, with
practice, be able to do this for 15 or 20 minutes or more. But it is tiring and
soon you will breathe a little too rapidly or hard, and the towel will cling to
your face. You then CANNOT get another breath, no matter how hard you try. In
fact the harder you try the less chance you have to get air. Lying there in your
cold, wet clothes, straining for air, getting only water in your nose you will
eventually pass out. You can then be revived (hopefully- several detainees have
died during interrogations) and the process started over.
NOW IMAGINE THIS HAPPENING TO YOUR SON OR DAUGHTER, and then remember that it was OUR PRESIDENT and NEARLY EVERY SINGLE REPUBLICAN MEMBER OF CONGRESS WHO PUT YOUR CHILD IN THAT SITUATION!
Bush has declared this an acceptable questioning technique for our children who might be captured by some other country which complies with the Geneva Convention. You also have to ask: "If they admit THIS what else might they be doing?" and "What about those countries that DON'T agree to the Geneva Conventions?" According to Bush if you do not lose limbs or have organ failure, it’s OK. Of course he breaks even THIS rule, because "water boarding" is known to cause brain damage. But since we know our President may not HAVE a brain, or at least a fully functioning one, he might not see brain damage as any sort of deterrent.
YES I AM BEING "HARSH". BUT THE FACT IS THE REPUBLICANS- BY PARTY LINE VOTE- HAVE JUST CONDEMNED ALL OUR YOUNG SOLDIERS TO HORRIBLE AND CRUEL TORTURE.
Anyone who knows me at all knows I LOVED serving in the military; it is the single thing in my life -other than Tabitha and our children and grandchildren- I am proudest of and hold dearest to my heart. When God asks me to account for my life I will start out with: "I served my nation honorably!" Remembering those I served with, and seeing the men and women serving proudly and bravely today, STILL brings tears to my eyes.
But now when I see a young person in uniform my tears have a different cause- I see them screaming silently, straining for air, bodies racked with pain and brain cells dying, in some secret prison and I know WE sent them there.
GOD FORGIVE US. I know I can't.
