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What If It Were Up To You?
CelesteJak at 2/25/2008 10:57PM
What If It Were Up To You?
The scenario..100 biologically contaminated bombs across the US. Multiple reliable tips as to who has the info on where they are and how to disarm them. The hardened terrorist is in your custody. You have 2 hours to get the info from him to save not only the immediate victims but stop a virulent disease from being released. Knowing water boarding neither kills nor maims but will get the info--do you authorize it or do you notify the grieving families how you stood on your noble principles?
This is not really an idea, more of a scenario, but since you solicited commentary, I'll give it to you.
It sounds like you've been watching too much television. I am not a big fan of hypothetical constructions, because they often try to force you into worst or best case scenario decisions, then you are held to that response and labeled a liar or a flip-flopper when you don't always respond the same way.
The fact is, this situation you described is not happening and will not likely happen. If you make all your principles based on a worst-case scenario, your principles will be pessimistic, gloomy and more likely to lead to violent reactions to policy situations. Call me naive, but I have no desire to live in a country that operates that way.
If we continue to claim that torture is necessary for the greater good, what next? Will we find that it is okay to torture our own citizens if we think they have information we could use? The only reason you are okay with torture is because it seems unlikely that it will happen to you. How many people do you think will end up being tortured who are legitimately innocent? Do you have so much faith in our system that you think it can be infallible in its search for terrorists?
Maybe you should stop watching "24" and come back to the real world where US moral authority used to be an effective tool in achieving American interests. You may think principles are useless in real life, but it is principles that led the US to its superpower status in the first place.
For national security...Stop making enemies.
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