"The reason U.S. policy is so important to us is that our
own struggle to rein in heinous practices in Turkey is directly related to the standards set
in Washington. … Cheney’s logic is that of the Spanish
Inquisition. It is deeply offensive."
Former Vice President Dick Cheney: His comments on the propriety of 'harsh interrogation techniques' have sent a chill up the spines of Turkish journalists all too familiar with the consequences of the practice.
In this space we are reluctant to issue comments on American
policy - outside of occasions like a U.S.
presidential visit or other dramatic event. There is plenty in Turkey
to demand our attention and no shortage of international pundits to opine on the
actions of the U.S. Congress or White House officials.
But yesterday, during our daily news meeting in which we
discuss the subject of the day’s "Straight" section, our unanimous attention
was captured by a story that appeared on Wednesday: "Obama Defends Memo Release
During CIA Visit." The topic of
discussion, of course, was the ban by President Obama and his new CIA
chief Leon Panetta on the use of techniques widely regarded as torture.
The reason U.S.
policy is so important to us, in particular this new policy, is that our own
struggle to rein in such heinous practices in Turkey
is directly related to the standards set in Washington.
Like most newsrooms in Turkey,
ours is intimately familiar with the topic. In the past, torture as an
instrument of state power was common in this country. Today, much progress has
been made. But not enough. And as is the case in Washington,
official attitudes are the key.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
One item that drew our special attention was the revelation that
one al-Qaeda suspect, alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Muhammed,
was "waterboarded" some 183 times in March 2003. By our math, that
works out to 5.9 torture sessions a day. The question inevitably arose: What
information wasn't forthcoming in the first 182 sessions that justified the
183rd?
It's perhaps helpful to note that a
room of Turkish journalists shared collective shock when discussing Vice
President Dick Cheney's contention that the revelations about such practices should accompany
a release of the information extracted. According to Cheney, the public should
be permitted to judge whether such harsh tactics are warranted. Of course,
valuable information results from torture - and nonsense and fabrications, too.
Cheney’s logic is that of the Spanish Inquisition. It is deeply offensive.
The inescapable fact is that the work of large numbers of
activists, law enforcement officers, lawyers and other leaders in places like Turkey
is undermined when the world’s most powerful nation stoops to the atrocities of
Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib. But in
the course of this reform, it's a struggle for us to understand why Obama must allow
the CIA torturers or torture-abetting
lawyers to walk free.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
Nevertheless, the order for these practices to halt echoed
loudly among us. The message Obama and Panetta are sending America's
torturers is a message to torturers everywhere. Torture has no place in states
and societies that strive to respect the rule of law. It is barbaric and must
always be condemned.
