If you watch the television series “Alias,” you will begin to understand what torture is and how it is used. Torture is used by the enemy and it is used by the forces of good. Torture is used to achieve objectives, goals and any information which can support those objectives and goals. A lot of soldiers who are captured behind enemy lines are subject to torture to extract the mission which puts them so far behind enemy lines. Whether or not you support torture, the issue of torture is difficult to understand because it is based solely on winning. There is no other reason but to win. If you ask soldiers who have been captured and tortured, the fear is other soldiers who may be subject to the same torture. If you ask the person who must win or who gets the information which allows victory, the fear is not having the information. However, the television series “Alias” allows a window into those who have to win and the cost of winning. Winning has painful costs and this is what the television series attempts to be evidence for, the spirit and the story behind the cost of winning.
When you ask for a scientific understanding of torture, you get an ad hoc of humanitarian groups who do not understand the problem fully. The problem is you do not wage war on your brothers in arms. That role is for the enemy. But and however, can you afford to not wage war on an enemy to achieve victory? That is the issue with torture. In a stalemate, it is better to abandon any thought of torture because the enemy will hold that stalemate in a very painful way. The enemy will use the weakness of compassion to give an advantage to their senseless meanness. They will torture your brothers in arms and then turn around and ask if there is a higher order to empathize for those who are tortured. That is called a stalemate and you are at the table of negotiations with an enemy who will inflict pain on your forces to save their own skin. In hostage rescue, that is the most dangerous situation because you are weak on two levels. You are weak to the compassion offered to the enemy and you are weak to the cruelty inflicted on your own forces. Now, the enemy has forced you to the bargaining table to take advantage of the stalemate. Those decisions are left to the highest levels and the most elite hostage rescue forces, they are hardly ever disclosed.
Because the
Torture is undefined presently because there are so many causes. One cause says that if the cause is right, does it make torture just as right? The other cause says the opposite, if the cause is wrong or evil, how can torture even be permitted? It is this cat and mouse game with the left again. How can anyone permit their own brothers in arms to be on the receiving end of cruel and manipulative crying by the enemy? They hurt so they hurt back. How do you come to ultimate resolution with your brothers in arms, who you know doesn’t have a care in the world about the enemy, when the enemy uses them to achieve their objectives? This is where the espionage game begins and can get very tricky and the television series “Alias” does a fine job to show both sides of the story.
If you show your weakness, your enemy will exploit it because they know how to get a response and get action. No matter how painful it is or can get, you have to hold your cards and wait for the right opportunity to throw them on the ground in a rage of fury. That is the sweetness and disposition with an enemy who plays a high stakes poker game at the strategic levels. The objective is to use chance and change to widen the margin for victory.
At the strategic level, one wrong decision can widen this margin by a very large proportion because they multiply many times over. The best outcome is to hold your cards, no matter how painful, for as long as you can until the chance arises to throw them down in a fury of rage. Until then you respect the differences of everyone at the bargaining table by acknowledging how their efforts do not go unnoticed. That is what a high stakes poker game at the strategic level feels like. When the moment comes to throw the cards down, the enemy will only stare with a blank nod where they were once very courageous and daringly cocky. You want to know who you are dealing with and whether the people are bold and gutsy enough to accept your terms. If they are not, then they will stare back with a blank nod and disaster will beset them because they know it is too late, nobody can help them out of their own predicament. There is nothing to respect about staring evil down but there is nothing which needs to be reformed when you are forced into this position. That is the nature of evil, people do not enjoy dealing with this problem and it leaves an empty space in life. It robs human beings of what they respect and cherish. It robs them of their own life.
When torture is the subject, the table of negotiations is a process where the most trusted force will be the most winning force. If you have an enemy who remains hidden behind a cause just as evil as the method they deployed, torture, then they will face the work of their own cause in a blank and trusting nod. Whether or not you support torture or not is hard to explain because it is based on winning. Winning comes in many ways and many options. In a stalemate, it is better to abandon any thought of torture because the enemy will hold that stalemate in a very painful way. The enemy will use the weakness of compassion to give an advantage to their senseless meanness and cruel intentions.
In the documentary Modern Marvels called “Torture Devices,” the definition of torture is presented by Michael Nutkiewicz, PhD who is the Executive Director of The Program for Torture Victims.
“Under the UN Convention against torture passed by the General Assembly in 1984, torture is defined as cruel, inhuman or degrading activities against an individual for the purpose of extracting information by-for punishment or revenge or intimidation. A torture instrument is essentially any instrument used to inflict forcible pain on human beings.”
The show then proceeds to explain who and what kind of person tortures another human being in such an aspiring fashion:
“People often imagine a torturer as some psychopath but in fact torturers can be highly educated people who come out of universities with music, art and philosophy degrees and they can also be brutal people who come out of prisons and used by the state to act as torturers.”
Paul Hoffman, chair of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International, explains the science behind torture:
“Torture is not a proven or effective way, for centuries, to get quality information. Torture gets people to say anything to make the pain go away.”
William I. Atwater, Director of the US Army Ordinance Museum, adds to this science of extracting information and confessions:
“Confessions extracted under torture are notoriously bad. I can get anyone to confess to anything if you give me enough time. I bet I can get you to confess to anything I want you to because people have a breaking point.”
Michael Nutkiewicz, PhD who is the Executive Director of The Program for Torture Victims explains how widespread the use of torture is in today’s modern society”
“Over the last thirty years, torture has risen to prominence as illegal torture devices for a number of governments, military organizations, and police agencies who are trying to hide their torture activities.”
It is not certain who is right and who is wrong when two sides have each other in a stalemate. In stalemate the rule of thumb is to abandon any thought of torture because the consequences of your own brothers in arms cannot be overlooked. The political left is always marching and rioting for social justice and their fair treatment. God forbid if the left were to march and riot in the name of torture or for the sole cause of torturing others. It may be right how torture is used against the political left, but it cannot be excused how it is used in a senseless manner to achieve a stalemate which will become some human shield against a hidden or cruel intention: Hidden and cruel intentions really do not need to employ another method of torture or another peaceful method to achieve a hidden and cruel intent. The question is who really needs to use torture and why. Is torture used to achieve peace or is it used as an instrument of warfare? It is very difficult to reform the nature of warfare when the outcome is always the same.
“It is the kind of pain that causes people to urinate and defecate without control. To loose control of their muscles, it is the kind of pain that causes people to have ongoing mental health problems.”
Paul Hoffman, chair of the International Executive Committee of Amnesty International, explains the science behind torture devices:
“One of the ways torture has often been perpetrated, particularly with political dissidents, has been with the use of electricity… where electrical wires are attached to the genitals or fingers or toes or the person’s head using some generator…”
“The use of these devices (electrical), to terrorize, to punish, to extract information or confession, leaves no visible trace. But the torture instruments of antiquity were not so deceptive.”
“The Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) estimates that not only do 400,000 torture victims live in the United States, but between 800 to 1,000 of their torturers do just as well.”
“In the 20th Century, governments claim the practice is despicable and horrifying, but for at least three millennia, torture was legal. It was a commonly used method of punishment for not only criminals but for innocent slaves and foreigners.”
That is the basis which the documentary scientifically seeks to explain about torture and the use of torture. In the second half of the show Modern Marvels, “Torture Devices”, the documentary highlights the most famous victims of torture. There is a sense of sophistication to those who torture and a sense of victimization to those who receive torture. Cruelty is sometimes a sophisticated mindset of power over others or the ability to inflict pain on subjects who are unruly. If you measure cruelty in terms of power, then the crueler someone is the more powerful they become. Typically, a mindset and fascination with power, cruelty and the ability to inflict pain; is the repertoire and panache of hardened serial killers. It is an innate weakness and the desire to be powerful.
Soldiers are not at liberty to act this out because their discipline demands the elite-ness of their character. If torturers are not soldiers and if they are not fighting for freedom, they are fighting for a dark side of their personality which is manicured from early childhood to an ultimate expression later in life when their life and reality collapses. Vindictive torturers have nothing left to hold onto except their primate desires, primitive intentions and cruel nature. It is not an instrument of warfare but used as an instrument against those who have to engage in warfare. Militaries do not want anything to do with the left or these characters because they ruin their reputations.
There is a certain line that says women, children and elderly people have too much wisdom and innocence to engage in or receive torture. When it comes to the warfare of the ignorant, there are no fine lines to define the machinery of warfare because the most deceptive of enemies will play upon the compassion of the public. If the cruelest of enemies know how to achieve a reaction out of others, they will use that as a machinery of their warfare. In hostage rescue there is no line and there are no definitions because the most vulnerable and the weakest make the most ideal hostages. Strength is not looked upon as an easy target by hostage takers. Success and the ability to escape is a big determining factor for those who both engage in senseless warfare and use torture as an instrument of senseless warfare. Serial killers and those who prey upon the sweetest or weakest parts of the human soul fear the public more than they fear the authorities because they can always escape the authorities but they can never escape the public or the pressure of the public. Who is the public and is it not the public who are the ones who want the blood of their leaders?
The most famous line drawn in the sand when it comes to torture is actually the biblical accounts of the crucifixion of Christ. The documentary on torture depicts the time of Tiberius and the reign of the Romans.
“Crucifixion as a form of public execution predates the Romans. We know at least as early as the
“In 1864, The Geneva Convention was drafted. It was an international agreement that among other things prohibited the use of torture. But rather than bringing the practice to an end, it would slowly drive it underground.”
__________
The Man Who Ordered CIA's Tape Destruction
Jose Rodriguez Ordered Tapes Of Terror Interrogations Destroyed Without Telling CIA Director
Jose Rodriguez
The biggest overhaul of the
(CBS) He is the man who ordered the destruction of video tapes documenting the CIA’s interrogation of two high-level al Qaeda operatives.
The then-head of the clandestine service, Jose Rodriguez, ordered the tapes destroyed shortly after a Washington Post expose focused attention on the CIA’s secret prisons, CBS News national security correspondent David Martin reports.
“Well, I think there might have been concern that those tapes could have been called for by some outside body and the CIA would no longer maintain control over them,” said retired CIA officer John Brennan, who is now a CBS News consultant.
Brennan says Rodriguez was also worried the Justice Department was backing away from its earlier support of harsh interrogation techniques, such as waterboarding.
“And that therefore agency officers who participated in those interrogation sessions may be subject to some type of prosecution,” Brennan said.
Rodriguez ordered the tapes destroyed without telling then-CIA director Porter Goss and against the advice of the CIA’s own general counsel, the White House deputy counsel and the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
“I expressed concern about destroying any video tapes and said that would be a very ill-advised move by the agency,” Rep. Jane Harman, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said.
Former CIA officer John Kiriakou led the raid, which captured the al Qaeda operative Abu Zubaydah, told CBS News he and at least one other CIA officer refused to use the harsh interrogation techniques.
That job, he said, was turned over to retired commandos under contract to the CIA.
© MMVII, CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.[1]
__________
Senate Panel to Question Hayden on CIA Videotapes[2]
By Tom Gjelten
Morning Edition, December 10, 2007 · CIA Director Michael Hayden is scheduled to appear before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday to discuss why his agency videotaped the interrogation of terrorism suspects and then destroyed the tapes.
The Justice Department and the CIA say they will investigate the destruction of the tapes, which are believed to have shown interrogators using especially harsh methods.
Just a week ago, the CIA and other agencies released a national intelligence estimate that concluded
Praise for NIE
Democrat Jay Rockefeller, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a longtime CIA critic, praised the estimate as an example of sound analysis.
But the CIA did not bask in glory for long. On Thursday came the news that the agency videotaped interrogations of terrorism suspects and then destroyed the tapes — despite warnings from Congress not to do so. The tape story quickly overshadowed the
The news of the tapes broke just as Congress was advancing legislation that would bar the agency from using extreme procedures to force detainees to talk — such as waterboarding, which simulates drowning.
Tom Malinowski,
"Certainly one possibility is that they stopped because they began to realize that what was on those videotapes was potentially dynamite, that if people in the future could see the visual images of prisoners being waterboarded they would be horrified even more than if they read the description of that technique in the newspaper," Malinowski said.
The CIA's congressional overseers meanwhile seized on another point — that the agency apparently destroyed the videotapes on its own. Three days after praising the work of the CIA, Rockefeller was outraged.
"They destroyed it without letting us know, without asking our permission, without consulting, without informing us in any way. They just did what the CIA likes to do," Rockefeller said.
The charge that the CIA sometimes does whatever it wants is an old one.
In 1975, Democratic Sen. Frank Church of Idaho led a congressional inquiry into CIA secret actions, charging that the agency sometimes acted "like a rogue elephant."
Loch Johnson, Church's staff director, said Church wanted to make the intelligence agencies a part of the
History of CIA Oversight
As an outgrowth of the Church committee proceedings, the House and Senate intelligence committees were given oversight of the nation's intelligence agencies.
Johnson, who is now a professor at the
He said the agency's apparently unilateral decision to destroy the videotapes raises the question of whether the agency has fulfilled its obligation to keep Congress informed of its actions.
"Starting in 1975, we had a whole new era of serious oversight when it came to intelligence, and this flies in the face of that whole effort," Johnson said.
Hayden, the current CIA director, was not at the agency at the time the interrogation videotapes were made, nor was he there when they were destroyed. He has said repeatedly he is a firm advocate of congressional oversight.
When Hayden appears on Capitol Hill, he will undoubtedly face tough questions on that point, as well as on the interrogation practices that gave rise to this new scandal.
Nation
Timeline: CIA and Interrogation Videotapes
__________
By Eric Weiner[3]
NPR.org, December 7, 2007 · News that the CIA made and then destroyed videotapes of al-Qaida suspects undergoing harsh interrogations while in agency custody seemed to have come out of nowhere. However, the story has been unfolding for years, though largely out of public view. The controversy over the tapes spans several countries and involves Congress, federal prosecutors and the top leadership of the CIA.
Here are some of the key moments.
March 2002: Terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah, allegedly a high-ranking member of al-Qaida, is captured in
2002: Abu Zubaydah and at least one other al-Qaida member are subjected to harsh interrogation techniques, possibly including waterboarding (controlled drowning), by their CIA captors. The agency videotapes several of these interrogations, partly to ensure that the techniques used are legal and partly to provide backup documentation of the information collected, according to CIA officials.
2003: The CIA's internal watchdog watches the videotapes and verifies that the interrogation practices were legal, according to CIA director Michael Hayden.
Also in 2003, the CIA informs Rep. Jane Harman (D-Calif.) and two other members of Congress of the tapes' existence.
August 2004: The 9/11 Commission completes its work on the terror attacks and the
2005: Lawyers representing terrorism suspect Zacharias Moussaoui make formal requests to the CIA for transcripts and other documentary evidence of the interrogation of agency prisoners. CIA lawyers tell prosecutors that the agency did not have such recordings.
Later in 2005, the CIA destroys at least two videotapes documenting the interrogation of two al-Qaida suspects in the agency's custody. The tapes showed CIA employees subjecting the suspects to harsh interrogation techniques. The tapes were reportedly destroyed at the request of Jose Rodriguez, then head of the agency's Directorate of Operations, its clandestine service.
November 2006: The Senate Intelligence Committee learns of the tapes' destruction, according to committee chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV).
December 2007: CIA Director Michael Hayden tells agency employees that the CIA destroyed videotapes it made in 2002 of two top terrorism suspects because it was afraid that keeping them "posed a security risk." If the tapes had become public, they would have exposed CIA officials "and their families to retaliation from al-Qaida and its sympathizers." Hayden makes the announcement hours after The New York Times informs the agency of its intention to publish a report about the tapes. Human rights groups and some members of Congress express outrage, accusing the agency of "destroying evidence." The Senate's second-ranking Democrat, Richard Durbin of
“Seven Nation Army” lyrics by The White Stripes
I'm gonna fight 'em all
A seven nation army couldn't hold me back
They're gonna rip it off
Taking their time right behind my back
And I'm talking to myself at night
Because I can't forget
Back and forth through my mind
Behind a cigarette
And the message coming from my eyes
Says leave it alone
Don't want to hear about it
Every single one's got a story to tell
Everyone knows about it
From the Queen of England to the hounds of hell
And if I catch it coming back my way
I'm gonna serve it to you
And that aint what you want to hear
But that’s what I'll do
And the feeling coming from my bones
Says find a home
I'm going to
Far from this opera for evermore
I'm gonna work the straw
Make the sweat drip out of every pore
And I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding, and I'm bleeding
Right before the lord
All the words are gonna bleed from me
And I will sing no more
And the stains coming from my blood
Tell me go back home
"Brothers in Arms" lyrics by Dire Straits
Through these mist covered mountains
Are homes now for me?
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Some day you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brothers in arms
Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve witnessed your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms
There’s so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones
Now the suns gone to hell
And the moons riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms
“Unwell” lyrics by Matchbox 20
All day…
Staring at the ceiling
Making friends with shadows on my wall
all night…
Hearing voices telling me
that I should get some sleep
because tomorrow might be good for something
Hold on…
I'm feeling like I'm headed for a
Breakdown…
I don't know why
(Chorus)
I'm not crazy I'm just a little unwell
I know right now you can't tell
But stay awhile and maybe then you'll see
A different side of me
I'm not crazy I'm just a little impaired
I know right now you don't care
But soon enough you're gonna think of me
And how I used to be
Me…
Talking to myself in public
Dodging glances on the train
I know…
I know they've all been talking 'bout me
I can hear them whisper
and it makes me think there must be something wrong
with me…
Out of all the hours thinking
somehow
I've lost my mind
(Chorus)
I been talking in my sleep
pretty soon they'll come to get me
Yeah they’re taking me away
(Chorus)
Hey how I used to be…
How I used to be yeah…
Well I'm just a little unwell…
How I used to be…
How I used to be…
"Rocks You Like a Hurri-cane" lyrics by The Scorpions
Its early morning
The sun comes out
Last night was shaking
And pretty loud
My cat is purring
And scratches my skin
So what is wrong?
With another sin
The bitch is hungry
She needs to tell
So give her inches
And feed her well
More days to come
New places to go
I’ve got to leave
It’s time for a show
(Chorus)
Here I am, rocks you like a hurri-cane
Here I am, rocks you like a hurri-cane
My body is burning
It starts to shout
Desire is coming
It breaks out loud
Lust is in cages
Till storm breaks loose
Just have to make it
With someone I choose
The night is calling
I have to go
The wolf is hungry
He runs the show
He’s licking his lips
He’s ready to win
On the hunt tonight
For love at first sting
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Rocked you like a hurri-cane
Its early morning
The sun comes out
Last night was shaking
And really loud
My cat is purring
It scratched my skin
So what is wrong?
With another sin
The night is calling
I have to go
The wolf is hungry
He runs the show
He’s licking his lips
He’s ready to win
On the hunt tonight
For love at first sting
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Here I am
“All The Things That I Have Done” lyrics by The Killers
When there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more sun?
One more sun
If you can hold on
If you can hold on, hold on
I wanna stand up, I wanna let go
You know, you know - no you don't, you don't
I wanna shine on, in the hearts of men
I want a meaning from the back of my broken hand
Another headache, another heart breaks
I'm so much older than I can take
And my affection, well it comes and goes
I need direction to perfection, no no no no
Help me out - Yeah
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
Oh, don't you put me on the back burner
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
And when there's nowhere else to run
Is there room for one more sun?
These changes ain't changing me
The cold-hearted boy I used to be
Yeah
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
Oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
I got soul, but I'm not a soldier
Yeah
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
Oh don't you put me on the back burner
You know you gotta help me out - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down - Yeah
Oh don't you put me on the back burner
You're gonna bring yourself down - Yeah
You're gonna bring yourself down
Over and in, last call for sin
While everyone's lost, the battle is won
With all these things that I've done
All these things that I've done
If you can hold on
If you can hold on
“Headstrong” lyrics by Trapt
Circling, circling
Circling your head
contemplating everything you ever said
Now I see the, truth I got a doubt
A different motive in your eyes, and now I'm out
See you later
I see your fantasy, you want to make a reality paved in gold
See inside, inside of our heads
Well that's over
I see your motives inside, and decision to hide
[Chorus]
Back off we'll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong
Headstrong we're Headstrong
Back off We'll take you on
Headstrong to take on anyone
I know that you are wrong and
This is not where you belong
I can't give anything away
I won't give everything away
Conclusions manifest
your first impressions got to be your very best
I see you're full, of sh** and that's alright
That's how you play I guess you get through every night
Now that's over
I see your fantasy, you want to make it a reality paved in gold
See inside, inside of our heads
Well that's all over
I see your motives inside, and decision to hide
[Chorus]
I can't give anything away
I won't give everything away
(Repeat)
I know, I know all about
I know, I know all about
I know, I know all about
I know, I know all about your motives inside and decision to hide
[Chorus]
Where you belong
This is not where you belong
I won't give everything away
I can't give anything away
This is not where you belong
“Lost in the Crowd” lyrics by Shinedown
Should I offer up my hand
And save a wish for once
For all of us
And should I offer up my hand
And lay the guilt on myself
So it's easier , to not stay, to not stay
(Chorus)
Because I found you in your corner
I pulled you out of the clouds
You left in such a hurry
Your face got lost in the crowd
Should I open up my eye's or just ignore who you are
And what you could have been
And should I open up my eye's and make believe you will change
So it's easier to not stay, to not stay
(Chorus)
"Nonstop to Nowhere" by Faster Pussycat
Well its 5 o'clock in the morning
And I-aight can't fall asleep, again
Times are changing and moving fast and way too fast for me
Seems like only yesterday I was skipping school and stealing gasoline
I've been talking I guess you call it talking a, white lie
One minute I'm on top of the world
And the next thing you know…
(Chorus)
I'm on the lame train
I got a first-class ticket on the nonstop to nowhere
(To know where)
Where it takes me I don't know
(I’m starting to know where)
I guess the tracks you make
(On your own)
I'm on the lame train
I got a first-class ticket on the nonstop to nowhere
(To know where)
Where it takes me I don't know
(I’m starting to know where)
Sometimes I
Just sit and daydream
And I-aight-aight just slips away, from here
If only I had a crystal ball or could invent a time machine
I'd go into the future take a good look around
And see what life has in store for me
I've been walking I guess you call it walking a, thin line
One minute I'm on top of the world and the next thing you know…
I'm on the lame train
I got a first-class ticket on the nonstop to nowhere
(To know where)
Where it takes me I don't know
(I’m starting to know where)
I guess the tracks you make
(On your own)
It's like a chain gang
(It’s a shame game and I know the exit)
But my problems seem to follow me
(To know where)
And I know
(It seems to follow me)
Nonstop to know where
(Solo)
I'm on the lame train
I got a first-class ticket on the nonstop to nowhere
Where it takes me I don't know
I guess the tracks you make
On your own.
Now I’m on the lame train
I got the first class ticket on the nonstop to nowhere
(To know where)
It’s all caught written in stone
(Nonstop to nowhere)
I guess the tracks you make
On your own
(Chorus)
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