Bush's Thirst For Torture

Written by Johnny Israel
johnny@cityroompress.com

George Bush vetoed a law that banned the CIA from using torture, especially waterboarding, and other forms of illegal interrogation methods on prisoners of war.

Congressional leaders charge that Bush has compromised the moral and legal authority of the nation, thus placing American military and its diplomatic staff in danger of austere interrogation tactics from our enemies abroad.

The Geneva Convention has defined waterboarding as a form of torture, and as stipulated by the “Rules of War”, waterboarding is against the law. Yet this President seems to believe that He is above the law, that torturing our enemies is not only a correct option, it is morally right.

This administration wants Americans to believe that their platform is one of Christian principles, that God Himself has ordained George Bush as the ‘supreme ruler’ of the world. That he and his Whitehouse cronies are not subject to the laws of this nation, especially the Rules of the Geneva Convention.

George said the law would bind the hands of the CIA in questioning hardened terrorists. He stated that the CIA program to question (torture) terrorists had produced critical intelligence that has prevented a number of attacks.

As a nation built upon Christian principles, our founding fathers banned the use of torture in any form. Torture violates the sovereign principles of the Christian faith. Whenever torture is applicable, it debases the moral and ethical rule of law. As a nation of law, torture by any means must not be tolerated by its people.

To torture our enemies to justify the end result, makes us no better than our enemies that commit lawlessness to achieve their goals. The fact is we mirror our enemies when we break the law to achieve intelligence.

Free nations believe in the moral concept of law. It is the foundation to freedom. Free nations around the world have banned torture as a means to justify freedom. Unfortunately the CIA has tarnished the American flag in its surreptitious scheme to kidnap and torture, and violently murder insurgent suspects.

For years the CIA operated its ‘Rendition Program’ whereby they kidnapped men, women, and children off the streets of foreign nations, and held them in ‘black prisons’ located in countries where they were tortured on a daily basis.

After the CIA Rendition was exposed, nations around the world were shocked to learn that America not only endorsed kidnapping and torturing of their citizens, but that the CIA, a cloak-and-dagger agency was given the green light by George Bush to commit such inhumane torturous acts on private citizens as not seen since the Nazi era. Never mind that torture of private citizens violates International law, it is immoral, despicable, unconscionable, and appalling to all free nations.

Without honor there is no true sacrifice to freedom. To save face as a nation of moral nobility, America must end its barbaric acts of kidnapping and torture.

It was the Son of God that said, “If your enemy is thirsty give him something to drink, if he is hungry give him food, by doing this you heap coals of fire on his head.”