Should Obama give it a rest?

[Cruelbreed]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/20/obama.cia/index.html

While I respect some of the truths in the article, should he give it a rest? Every other day something new and I'm mostly content with this, but releasing confidential information on torture that really won't help us?

He's right, we already know what happened and that much of it is against what the country might stand for. But during times of war aren't these kinds of measures sometimes necessary? Yes we should not get out of hand and torture the shit out of every insurgent. Our first approaches should be to somehow convert them, place them in a state of mind they feel comfortable.

Perhaps then they might open up and speak their minds. But should we be sending the message to our enemies that we are going to be weaker, and that getting caught has less of a consequence? Should we be releasing details on how our secret prisons might operate and how we may or may not act in the future?

Either way I think I might agree with the accountability portion. That it's important for some CIA members to secure the United States but at the same time keep in the back of their minds that they as agents and the U.S. will be held accountable for their results. Is there a better solution over torture, or has obama made a vast mistake?

[ghost]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/04/20/obama.cia/index.html

While I respect some of the truths in the article, should he give it a rest? Every other day something new and I'm mostly content with this, but releasing confidential information on torture that really won't help us?

He's right, we already know what happened and that much of it is against what the country might stand for. But during times of war aren't these kinds of measures sometimes necessary? Yes we should not get out of hand and torture the shit out of every insurgent. Our first approaches should be to somehow convert them, place them in a state of mind they feel comfortable.

Perhaps then they might open up and speak their minds. But should we be sending the message to our enemies that we are going to be weaker, and that getting caught has less of a consequence? Should we be releasing details on how our secret prisons might operate and how we may or may not act in the future?

Either way I think I might agree with the accountability portion. That it's important for some CIA members to secure the United States but at the same time keep in the back of their minds that they as agents and the U.S. will be held accountable for their results. Is there a better solution over torture, or has obama made a vast mistake?


Well said. I think that using comfort as a tool to get the detainee to open up is very effective. But obviously you can't just play nice with these guys, all day long.

What do people think happens during interrogations? They're not just sitting around playing patty-cake. While it may be obvious, I still don't think he should have said it as openly as he did. The general public is very impressionable. Obviously, they know it happens, but I don't think that a lot of people really think it through, as far as the reasons behind these types of things, the options, and pros and cons.