NPR's All Things Considered had a
military psychologist on
today to defend torture, or rather to present "the other side of the debate." It turns out that the interrogator, Bryce Lefever, doesn't like the way that they are being portrayed. In the interview, he argues that the psychologists' charge to do no harm does not apply to those captured in the formerly named "war on terror." He instead considers America to be his corporate customer and that he must do what is best for the "good of all." What's more, the techniques work. Further, if you are going to complain about the techniques, you better offer an alternative from your "ivory-tower" level of criticism or STFU.
The interview reminded me of this exchange.
Torture works in getting people to talk; what they say is less reliable though, and bad information kills soldiers and/or civilian Americans just as readily as no information. Torture requires absolute secrecy, which is impossible in today's media enriched world. It follows that public opinion will be influenced by the news that America now operates torture chambers while its rhetoric calls for others to respect human rights. On a related note, rapport-building techniques work just as readily and do not shock the conscience of the global community. See the work of Matthew Alexander (his book entitled How to Break a Terrorist ) and Malcom Nance , both former interrogators. The bad publicity we have gotten as a result of resorting to torture have made for recruiting fodder for our enemies. Whatever dubious information we receive from coercive interrogation is canceled out by the creation of additional enemies to fight. More Americans may die. In the end, Lefever's cost-benefit analysis is lacking because he is too short-sighted to see that torture has ramifications that do not end after the end of the torture session.
If I were Czar of Catechetics, unlikelily appointed to help set the agenda for instruction and discussion among adult church-goers in America, I’d assign the topic of torture.
Try this: "Church-Goers Like Torture More ," which comes our way via an Atlantic
Where have the churches been on this subject? Most of them, through their leaders, are clearly on record against our using torture as an offense against human dignity, a contradiction of our nation’s most cherished traditions, et cetera. A statement issued by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in 2006 and signed by leaders of many Orthodox and Protestant denominations was condemnatory. We hope that one day evangelical leadership will step forward. We may no longer justify the use of torture as a policy, but the soul-damaging effect of approving it remains.
Some justify our use of violence because the biblical God and God’s people acted violently and the book of Revelation has a visionary line about it. Others say that the more fearful you are, the more likely you justify an instrument which Mr. Cheney (no documentation provided or permitted, he says) says helped us prevent 9/11 repeats. They don’t say why church-going of some sorts inspires fear and ignites fury, while staying home puts one at relative ease. Most of all, as we read the detailed horror-stories of what we allowed and/or practiced, one wonders why some other theological themes don’t get examined more. "Human dignity?" The affirmation that humans are made in the image of God and, for Christians, that one is to see the Christ in others should carry some weight. We are told that we tortured only to get information, not for retribution. Read the defenses of torture and one will find witness to "our" hatred of those "others" with whom we deal. We at least ought to be discussing what church leaders have been saying. - Martin E. Marty
I'm able to say that the vast majority of my denomination is firmly against torture but it is interesting that those who are more "evangelical" are for it. I remember a survey from 2008 that found that a majority of southern evangelicals were okay with torture, but some would change their mind when confronted with the Golden Rule.
Update:
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