This past Saturday President Bush vetoed a bill banning the CIA from using waterboarding as a technique in interrogating suspected terrorists, and I'm sure there's going to be some backlash to ensue sooner rather than later.
The fact is that the United States was attacked by a group of individuals who have no regard for democracy or the pursuit of justice, and frankly no regard for human life. People are simply pawns in their game. I think to some extent that there are segments of the American population who have already forgotten that fact. The skyline of New York was changed forever that fateful day in September 2001, and so was the face of America. We cannot forget that 3,000 innocent American lives were taken that day, and that we are now engaged in an ongoing effort to make sure that such a day never occurs again. And so far we have been successful.
Waterboarding is viewed by some to be a form of torture. Perhaps it is. But the real question here is how important is our freedom to us? How important is our safety to us? If techniques such as these and others used by the CIA that will not be banned by action of the veto help us to obtain information that potentially saves American lives, then why would we not use it?
The fact is that the United States was attacked by a group of individuals who have no regard for democracy or the pursuit of justice, and frankly no regard for human life. People are simply pawns in their game. I think to some extent that there are segments of the American population who have already forgotten that fact. The skyline of New York was changed forever that fateful day in September 2001, and so was the face of America. We cannot forget that 3,000 innocent American lives were taken that day, and that we are now engaged in an ongoing effort to make sure that such a day never occurs again. And so far we have been successful.
Waterboarding is viewed by some to be a form of torture. Perhaps it is. But the real question here is how important is our freedom to us? How important is our safety to us? If techniques such as these and others used by the CIA that will not be banned by action of the veto help us to obtain information that potentially saves American lives, then why would we not use it?
People will undoubtedly argue that allowing such a technique to be used in interrorgations will paint Americans in a bad light, and hinder our own arguments for human rights issues around the world. But again, 3,000 Americans were put to death without cause or justification on September 11th. There were no interrogations in this event to determine if the people who would be left to die in the rubble were guilty of anything. There was no threat to the life or pursuits of the people commanding those planes. No one's rights were considered before the planes came crashing into our buildings. It was a thoughtless act designed to change the way we live as a people and instill fear in every aspect of our lives. These are people I don't want to have in the world, and as a country we should be able to do what's needed to ensure they cannot again carry out their very vicious campaigns against us.
I applaud President Bush for his actions in vetoing this bill. It is a bold and presidential act consistent with his actions throughout his presidency. It will provide help in saving American lives.
Besides, waterboarding is only one of many interrogation techniques. I'll leave it up to the experts to decide when certain techniques are deemed appropriate and useful.
I applaud President Bush for his actions in vetoing this bill. It is a bold and presidential act consistent with his actions throughout his presidency. It will provide help in saving American lives.
Besides, waterboarding is only one of many interrogation techniques. I'll leave it up to the experts to decide when certain techniques are deemed appropriate and useful.
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