Richard Cohen is conflicted. On the one hand, torture seems like a bad thing. On the other hand, this Cheney fellow, he says it works. “He says he knows of two CIA memos that support his contention that the harsh interrogation methods worked and that many lives were saved.”
“Cheney says he once had the memos in his files and has since asked that they be released. He’s got a point. After all, this is not merely some political catfight conducted by bloggers, although it is a bit of that, too. Inescapably, it is about life and death – not ideology, but people hurling themselves from the burning World Trade Center. If Cheney is right, then let the debate begin: What to do about enhanced interrogation methods? Should they be banned across the board, always and forever? Can we talk about what is and not just what ought to be?”
Well, can we talk? A couple of weeks ago, Cohen was talking like this: “I know it is offensive to compare almost anyone or anything to the Nazis, but the Bush-era memos struck me as echoes from the past. Here, once again, were the squalid efforts of legal toadies to justify the unjustifiable. Here, again, was a lesson that needs constant refreshing: Before you can torture anyone, you must first torture the law. When that happens, we are all on the rack.”
So, maybe the Nazis had a point? Let’s talk about this.
