Torture by America: Here we go Again
Commentary by Steve Yuhas
June 24, 2004

The same day that Al Qaeda terrorists in Iraq killed another civilian, this time beheading a young man from South Korea, the media flipped over yet another non-story over, what else, American "torture" of prisoners. This time the story revolved around whether or not President Bush and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized, indeed ordered, the torture of Iraqi and Afghan prisoners being held in Iraq and Cuba. Breaking news banners hit the news channels as President Bush authorized the release of documents proving the contrary.

None of that mattered, though, since many people who hate President Bush and are more critical of our military than they are of Al Qaeda began the onslaught of commentary that typifies their rhetoric. So what made them so upset? It was the fact that the following were permitted under a directive signed by Secretary Rumsfeld:

• Putting detainees in "stress positions," - all that means is making them stand up for up to four hours or bend down; not torture; and,
• Removing prisoners' clothes - ever been to boot camp, we were naked in groups and it was no war crime; and,
• Intimidating detainees with dogs - let me guess, barking dogs are offensive to young Arab males?
• Interrogating prisoners for 20 hours at a time - prisoners have little else to do while they’re being detained, why not question them? Again back to boot camp, Marines get about 3 hours of sleep during "The Crucible" portion of boot camp - is that torture?
• Forcing prisoners to wear hoods during interrogations and transportation - good enough for Senator Byrd, why is it not good enough for prisoners?
• Shaving detainees' heads and beards - cleanliness is next to Godliness; and,
• Using "mild, non-injurious physical contact," such as poking - repeat the boot camp analogy - same kind of contact.

Compare the mild treatment of prisoners to those we are fighting. First, the folks fighting us in Afghanistan, those who made it to Cuba, are there because they were caught on a battle field fighting American troops. Who besides Ted Kennedy and the others on the left feel sorry for people who wanted to kill our forces? Leave it to the left to decide that people who were out shooting Americans for sport one week deserve better treatment than people in our military.

Secondly, the people mistreated in Abu Ghraib deserved whatever mistreatment they received. I don’t condone torturing human beings, but I’m to the point where I’m willing to give it a try. If a barking dog is so bad to Arab men and shaving their heads and beards would have such a bad affect on their psyche, then let the dogs bark and commence to shaving. If we could save one American life or the life of one member of the coalition by forcing a guy to stand naked next to a barking dog - let’s just say that is "torture" I’m willing to accept.

The problem with talking about the torture of prisoners is that it is not happening. Torture is chopping off the head, the hands, the feet, beatings and other tactics employed by the Arab world against their own people. Talk to someone in Saudi Arabia convicted of theft and check out their missing hand. The Arab world understands and responds to torture, how is it that when they do it the left hardly whimpers, but when a dog is used to intimidate an Iraqi or Afghan who was killing Americans two days before suddenly the left goes nuts?

Now that western heads have become fashion in Iraq and Saudi Arabia one would think that we would be looking at ways to improve our tactics to get information from these Al Qaeda thugs and terrorists, but we’re not. We’re, through our media and the leftist politicians and activists, are now doing everything we can to emasculate our forces so that the only people who must adhere to the laws of war are Americans.

It is high time to rethink our relationship to the Geneva Conventions. The United States has and always will treat people humanely, but the notion that we should surrender to the political correctness of the left and those sympathetic to our enemy is treason of the first order. Those who don’t like the way America treats prisoners should consider that they’re giving strength to the enemy by tying the hands of the men and women charged with our protection. They won’t think that way, of course, because their selfishness only allows them to manifest their hate for President Bush in their news releases and public statements supportive of our enemy.

The other day Michael Savage made a point that people who aid the enemy are traitors and that it is time to point the people out. Fine, I’ll start with those who coddle the enemy with press releases and media stories about mistreatment of Iraqis and Afghans on the day a South Korean’s head is lobbed off by the enemy.

Enough is enough - the media has a responsibility to report the news, not to modify non-stories about non-existent torture. I wonder what would happen if the next head to be hacked off by Al Qaeda belonged to a journalist?