No this isn't hyperbole, and this isn't a shrouded pot shot at the already unfavorable Bush administration. This is honest feelings about the current state of affairs and the way our Government operates to it's core levels. And how we as citizens have allowed the darkest of our demons to operate and do what they pleased to whomever they pleased all for the sake of "National Security." Yes, this is torture.
Torture, or what the CIA might call it "Enhanced Interrogation Tactics" is one of the worst things we can do to another human being. There is no way you could look at what the CIA did and not call it torture. We did all of this for National Security, we did this because of how shaken we became from 9/11. Ever since Terrorists sent planes into our windows we suddenly gave up whatever morality we had left and committed deplorable acts against our fellow man. Whoever we deemed as a "threat" we put them through hell and back. Some of them never made it back. Some people we put through this torture were so mentally broken from what the CIA and our Government did to them they can no longer function in society.
Worst of all, we allowed this to happen. We the citizens of the United States should be just as accountable for the actions of the CIA as much as the CIA should be held accountable for torture. After all, the same people among us who defended the actions of the Patriot Act. Where we allowed the NSA and other Government groups to spy into our EMails, phone calls, and our private information to route terrorism. They are the same people who try to downplay the immoral and disgusting things we did to other human beings to route Terrorism. We've become so numb to what we are willing to do as a Country to defend ourselves from the boogyman of Terrorism that some of us look at the EIT report and go "Meh." That reaction, that total lack of empathy and humanity perhaps disgusts me more than the actual acts of torture itself.
Our government failed us then, and our government fails us now. President Obama is more than capable of reforming the CIA, he's more than capable of ending the Patriot Act, yet he himself chose to extend the Patriot Act. He himself chose to bomb anywhere that even remotely stinks of Terrorism with drone strikes. With a flick of the wrists of some Engineer we can end the lives of dozens of people from the comfort of a Military Base. Yet we have Liberals who defend these actions, all for the sake of "National Security." It's sickening. It hurts me to the very core that we have become so afraid of monsters that we lash out and became the monsters ourselves to defend ourselves. We wear the horns on our heads and some of us wear them with pride.
Even while we wear those horns, and carry our demonic pitchfork the United States carries itself as the Police of the World. We have the largest stick, we make the rules on what's right and what's wrong. When Syria starts gassing it's own people, the world looks to us. They look the United States and see what we do to stop it. When Saddam was mustard gassing his own people, we invaded the country as a war effort to stop him. We called it a move to bring safety, to bring stability to the world. Yet if the United States starts torturing people for the sake of preventing Terrorism, are we really any different from the Viet Cong who shoved bamboo under fingernails?
Yet with all of this information coming to light, we do nothing about it. The Operatives who committed these horrible acts continue to walk as free men. The agency continues to defend its actions, they look us in the face and call people like Feinstein the monsters for daring to call force feeding, and beatings as what it is, torture. It's disgusting how quickly people rallied against the report because it was written by Democrats. It is appalling that we are making this about red and blue when we as people, we as a country should look at Torture and go "This isn't right, this needs to be stopped."
We'll stick to our guns in the end. The proud Conservatives among us will continue defending Torture because it was being committed on men and women we call Terrorists. The little name that is enough to numb us to the idea of treating captives of anything less than humane. The Liberals in America will wag their finger at torture, yet won't do anything to change or stop it. If we want to change this, if we want to truly hold ourselves as this Moral Utopia of justice and liberty we need to take action in ending torture programs, we need to take action in protecting our privacy from the government. We need to get out from under the blanket of "National Security" and face our own demons before we battle other demons.
Torture, or what the CIA might call it "Enhanced Interrogation Tactics" is one of the worst things we can do to another human being. There is no way you could look at what the CIA did and not call it torture. We did all of this for National Security, we did this because of how shaken we became from 9/11. Ever since Terrorists sent planes into our windows we suddenly gave up whatever morality we had left and committed deplorable acts against our fellow man. Whoever we deemed as a "threat" we put them through hell and back. Some of them never made it back. Some people we put through this torture were so mentally broken from what the CIA and our Government did to them they can no longer function in society.
Worst of all, we allowed this to happen. We the citizens of the United States should be just as accountable for the actions of the CIA as much as the CIA should be held accountable for torture. After all, the same people among us who defended the actions of the Patriot Act. Where we allowed the NSA and other Government groups to spy into our EMails, phone calls, and our private information to route terrorism. They are the same people who try to downplay the immoral and disgusting things we did to other human beings to route Terrorism. We've become so numb to what we are willing to do as a Country to defend ourselves from the boogyman of Terrorism that some of us look at the EIT report and go "Meh." That reaction, that total lack of empathy and humanity perhaps disgusts me more than the actual acts of torture itself.
Our government failed us then, and our government fails us now. President Obama is more than capable of reforming the CIA, he's more than capable of ending the Patriot Act, yet he himself chose to extend the Patriot Act. He himself chose to bomb anywhere that even remotely stinks of Terrorism with drone strikes. With a flick of the wrists of some Engineer we can end the lives of dozens of people from the comfort of a Military Base. Yet we have Liberals who defend these actions, all for the sake of "National Security." It's sickening. It hurts me to the very core that we have become so afraid of monsters that we lash out and became the monsters ourselves to defend ourselves. We wear the horns on our heads and some of us wear them with pride.
Even while we wear those horns, and carry our demonic pitchfork the United States carries itself as the Police of the World. We have the largest stick, we make the rules on what's right and what's wrong. When Syria starts gassing it's own people, the world looks to us. They look the United States and see what we do to stop it. When Saddam was mustard gassing his own people, we invaded the country as a war effort to stop him. We called it a move to bring safety, to bring stability to the world. Yet if the United States starts torturing people for the sake of preventing Terrorism, are we really any different from the Viet Cong who shoved bamboo under fingernails?
Yet with all of this information coming to light, we do nothing about it. The Operatives who committed these horrible acts continue to walk as free men. The agency continues to defend its actions, they look us in the face and call people like Feinstein the monsters for daring to call force feeding, and beatings as what it is, torture. It's disgusting how quickly people rallied against the report because it was written by Democrats. It is appalling that we are making this about red and blue when we as people, we as a country should look at Torture and go "This isn't right, this needs to be stopped."
We'll stick to our guns in the end. The proud Conservatives among us will continue defending Torture because it was being committed on men and women we call Terrorists. The little name that is enough to numb us to the idea of treating captives of anything less than humane. The Liberals in America will wag their finger at torture, yet won't do anything to change or stop it. If we want to change this, if we want to truly hold ourselves as this Moral Utopia of justice and liberty we need to take action in ending torture programs, we need to take action in protecting our privacy from the government. We need to get out from under the blanket of "National Security" and face our own demons before we battle other demons.