Tonto 1 #76 November 13, 2003 Quote Troll! Life must be so simple for you. I state an opinion on a thread posted by someone else - and so I'm a troll. Whatever. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Tonto 1 #77 November 13, 2003 tube by which sound is produced ; utter in a shrill voice. That's how. It's called English - and we can use all the words we want to describe what we feel. tIt's the year of the Pig. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
vonSanta 0 #78 November 13, 2003 QuoteAnd yes, I am 100% behind West. As this was not a physical assault, but a psychological one, and it produced the needed results - information was gained in time to prevent an attack from occurring with potential significant loss of American and Iraqi lives - I do back him for getting what he needed. I usually agree with you Michele, but what you're saying here is that you condone mental torture. Torture was widespread in Europe a few hundred years ago. it was recognized as a good method for extracting informationl The inquisition and other episodes proved, however, that it wasn't very good when it came to extracting *reliable* information. Break someone and they'll say anything to get away from the physical or mental pain. Break a man's legs and he'll heal. Break a man's spirit and he's in dire straits. What West was trying to say was "I'll shoot yer brains out if ya don't start talking *right now*". The prisoner clearly understood the warning and spilled his guts. His method was effectively employed by the Germans and Soviets in WWII. Unfortunately it had a rather high failure rate and lead to family members sentencing their own blood to die - simply because they just wanted out of the torment and the torturers wanted certain answers. Andy McNab, a british former SAS soldier, has experienced torture on his own body. he's a tough mofo, but even he said that it doesn't matter HOW tough you are. It's only a matter of time until you tell them what they want - or what you think they want to hear. In his case he managed to sell them a false story. US lives were saved as a consequence of West's actions. If the ends justify the means then ti follows that Iraqis, the Taliban and any other force also should be allowed to use torture to extract information that *might* help save the lives of *their* comrades. Which, in the end, will mean that captured US troops will be subjected to horrifying experiences. But it's ok, because it might save lives, yes? Rethorical question, that last one. What I am saying; one must apply the behaviour in question to everyone and THEN consider whether it's a good idea. Personally, I cannot condemn the guy. I'd done the same thing. I wouldn't have pushed it much farther though, but that's how I'm mentally made up. Knowing that I'm probably moderate when it comes to this, I think it's a good idea to have rules ot permitting excess abuse. Santa Von GrossenArsch I only come in one flavour ohwaitthatcanbemisunderst Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
