Monday, May 21, 2007

Torture's acceptability

The thinking of the Bush Administration may have infected the military quite fully.  In an online poll of the Military Times (of course an online poll is not scientific) nearly 50% of respondents said : "Yes, it [torture] should be used to gather vital information."  Another 19% said it was acceptable to "save US troops' lives".  Only 30%- less than 1/3- said torture was never acceptable.
 
It seems a safe assumption that the vast majority of participants in the online poll would be military readers- the Military Times is hardly a mainstream media source.  It targets members of the military.  As such, it reflects an infection that has been spread from Rumsfeld/Cheney/Bush to the general military population.
 
A fish, the saying goes, rots from the head down.
 
The US needs new leadership, moral leadership, to restore traditional American values and the rule of law on this issue.

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