Submitted by carl mack, Dec 14, 2007 23:30

I would favor waterboarding and cutting of fingers and other tortures if they worked. The facts are that they don't work! Kiriakou said waterboarding "enabled the CIA to disrupt "maybe dozens" of Al Qaeda attacks." The key word is maybe, which means they got nothing. The amazing thing is that the CIA doesn't issue a press releases for every attack they prevent. Of course personnel, sources and methods would not be included. They wouldn't even have to be true. I am still amazed that we didn't plant some WMD's in Iraq or take the media to a aspirin factory to show were WMD's were made. Torture doesn't work because;1. It disrespects the enemy. Obviously a terror group is going to use a check in, see or sign system so they will immediately know that a member is in custody. They would move change plans, names locations etc. So torturers would have to beleive that the terrorist are stupid, they wouldn't notice that someone was missing and wait for the police, Marines or CIA to kick the door down. 2. Every terrorist has consider what to do or say if captured. If the insurgents are as organized as they appear to be then they will have a legend that is taught to members. If even if the torturer and the torturee believe the information it may not be true. The torturee may be lying. An action team may actually kill/capture more terrorists, kill/capture innocent people or village, or walk into a trap. All of the above has happened. 3. We know that innocent people, communities and villages are sold for money, favor or to settle a score. Any action taken uder these circumstances results in innocent people being imprisoned,turtured or killed creating more terrorists.

Kenya,Congo, Algeria, South Africa and Viet Nam where our Phoenix program didn't work are all examples of failed torture procedures. Insurgents just tell people who refuse to cooperate that they will be implicated any way. Although we are paying $10,000 to the family of every innocent person we kill it still contributes to the ranks of the insurgents. Revenge and grudges last long in these countries. Were breeding generations of terrorists.

I doubt that John Kiriakou is the real name of the ex agent that was quoted. Obviously the torturee's real name is not Abu Zubaida. It's obvious that the media is very clumsily slanting the news and opinions. It's obvious that torture is not the issue, it is only a convenient and probably planted diversion. The real issue is how do we maintain the support of our friends, effectively lie to the American public, pacify the middle east and defeat terrorism. We should fire Blackwater, KBR and Haliburton, then hire Hill and Knowlton.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.