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Do You Want Obama to pursue Prosecution For Torture

Discussion in 'BBS Hangout: Debate & Discussion' started by pgabriel, Apr 17, 2009.

  1. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    The only "pragmatic" route is the one that includes the United States never torturing another person ever again.
     
  2. rhester

    rhester Member

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    You correctly answered your own doubts- investigating criminal charges should not hinge on politics. So leave politics out and investigate criminal activity, that is the right thing to do and if it is up to the President of the US I expect him to do what is right, not what is political.

    Prosecuting criminals shouldn't be influenced by public opinion. And the time to prosecute criminals is when you have enough evidence to convict. Any timing should be determined by the Dept. of Justice.

    If there are laws against torture then there is a definition already.

    I've never seen this show (or many others) but the implication of bringing a criminal investigation is simple- doing the right thing.

    You are living according to the rule of law, showing impartial justice and honesty by prosecuting criminals consistently and justly.
     
  3. adoo

    adoo Member

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    and torturing someone 6 times a day for 30+ days is not " for the sake of abusing them" :confused:
     
  4. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    I get this, but when you're talking about prosecuting an adminstration that was doing things that probably half the population agrees with, its not that simple.

    its not like prosecuting nixon's trangressions.
     
  5. pgabriel

    pgabriel Educated Negro

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    Obama not ruling prosecution out

    WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama is leaving the door to open to possible prosecution of Bush administration officials who devised harsh terrorism-era interrogation tactics.
    He also said today that he worries about the impact of high-intensity hearings on how detainees were treated under former President George W. Bush. But Obama did say, nevertheless, he could support a Hill investigation if it were conducted in a bipartisan way.

    Obama has said he doesn't support charging CIA agents and interrogators who took part in waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics, acting on advice from superiors that such practices were legal. But he also said that it is up to the attorney general whether to prosecute Bush administration lawyers who wrote the memos approving these tactics.
     
  6. thacabbage

    thacabbage Contributing Member

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    surprised noone has touched this - it has generated quite the response today.
     
  7. basso

    basso Member
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    posturing.

    lemme know when he rules it in.
     
  8. rocketsjudoka

    rocketsjudoka Member

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    After reading through this thread and other news stories regarding the torture memos I'm changing my mind on this issue and think prosecutions might actually be a good thing.

    I think there is too little we as a people don't know about what is done in our name and why. If our courts really are a crucible for discovering truth then what better way to have a public airing of what was done, why and the result of it. If torture has truly been effective in making us safe then I doubt anyone who is charged with torture will be convicted.

    I still expect that trials will be very difficult and will be fraught with political recriminations but even without trials torture will be a heated political issue.
     
  9. basso

    basso Member
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    it's only a heated political issue for folks who want to punish the Bush admin for, well, being republicans and winning two election in a row.

    but if that's how Obama wants to spend his political capital, dwindling tho it may be, i say- bring it on.
     
  10. Batman Jones

    Batman Jones Member

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    You are so freaking stupid.
     
    1 person likes this.
  11. FranchiseBlade

    Supporting Member

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    Yes, you obviously know exactly why people want leaders who torture to be punished.

    Saddam was only a bad guy because his enemies wanted to spend their political capital making him look bad. It wasn't because they were morally opposed to torture or anything.
     
  12. mc mark

    mc mark Member

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    It's because they're republicans damit!
     
  13. adoo

    adoo Member

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    i disagree.

    Had McCain won the election, most probably, he also would pursue the torturer, perhaps more fervantly than O. McCain, who was tortured by the VietCong, has been an unabashed critics of W admin's handler of Abu Grha and GTMO
     
  14. basso

    basso Member
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    stellar retort bats. one of your best posts in years.
     
  15. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    It's exactly the kind of response you aimed to elicit - can you specify exactly what the problem is with it.
     
  16. basso

    basso Member
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    tell me Sam- do you support the execution of 3 pirates when their (American) hostage's life is in imminent danger?

    if so, why do you draw a distinction between that act, and the waterboarding of KSM when an entire (American) city is likewise in imminent danger?

    MGIA
     
  17. FranchiseBlade

    Supporting Member

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    Because waterboarding KSM didn't and wouldn't get any useful information. Anyone who truly cared about the city and the people living there, would prefer they used techniques that actually worked.

    Why would you prefer to use techniques that have been shown(particularly with KSM) not to work?
     
  18. basso

    basso Member
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    and yet they did work.

    why is waterboarding worse than execution?
     
  19. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    This is not torture and was to save a life. They didn't shoot them with rubber bullets then take them to a secret prison and torture them 183 times over a multi-year period.

    Why do you feel the need to lie to us and create hypotheticals about situations that don't exist?

    This is not what happened of course- he was illegally tortured when there was no imminent threat, and gave investigators nothing that they could not have obtained from other means - namely because torture doesn't work and results in false information.
     
  20. SamFisher

    SamFisher Member

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    No they didn't, liar. Please bring up the Library Tower because I am about to embarrass you and send you running from this thread.
     

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