Flight Pundit

Torture: Thoughts of fingernails being nailed off of the finger; lit cigarettes being put out on flesh. Human beings experiencing whips and rocks being thrown at them as they are tied up and helpless to defend themselves. People, suspended in air by ropes, having limbs cut up and removed. Body parts, external and internal, being cut up for experimental purposes. All while they are alive. These scenes are from movies. We know this stuff has happened in the past, to American soldiers and others. To Russian citizens who stood up against Stalin. To Jews who were forced into concentration camps.

And recently—
A living US soldier having his gentials cut off, and stuffed into his mouth. And the other US soldier being held captive along side - having his gentials cut off and stuffed into his anal cavity. Then, the two are tied up to a vehicle and dragged through the streets, still alive. One is set on fire. The other is made to watch- witnessing his friend’s head being smashed in by Muslim people cheering these acts. Then, as he watches this horror, God decides it’s enough- the terrorists cut off head off and he dies.

Some say it’s justified. Because we “invaded” Iraq. Others say the two soldiers deserved this because they were members of the same company of which others are accused of raping and killing a 14 yr old girl.

There are no excuses.

No one likes to get this descriptive about what our soldeirs are experiencing. No one likes to know these gritty details. But it’s time to put away the stereotype descriptions of what torture really is. It’s not new to the middle east either. This stuff has been going on for years, decades. Because it’s their culture. Their way of life.

Slapping someone is not torture. Punching someone is not torture. Having a woman interrogate a detainee is not torture. This woman, if she strips in front of said detainee and places her underwear on his body, is not torturing him. Covering a mouth with plastic wrap and dunking someone into water is not torture, when compared to what those soldiers went through. Being made to stand for hours, even days, is preferable to having one’s head cut off. Being cold is also something I dare day most people would prefer than the latter…The countless others who have been be-headed, the women who have been held hostage- and killed- would beg to differ with John McCain and his elk about the true meaning of torture. Women hostages get the brunt of torture and we won’t go into the gritty details because it will one vomit with digust.

When I read editorials like this, I want to have all the videos of these torture scenes played over and over again.

On the Sunday before Easter, Catholic priests and congregations recite the Passion According to St. Matthew, which describes the torture and execution, under Roman law, of Jesus Christ. The most powerful moment in this ritual takes place when the priest, taking the part of Pontius Pilate, asks the congregation what they want done to this man who has come into his care. The congregation responds, “Crucify him!”

That is, we the people implore the authorities to torture a man to death.

To crucify a human being is torture. It lasts for days. It’s a horrible way to die.

Today of course we are very sophisticated and civilized, and we no longer believe in such primitive concepts as blood guilt, or atonement through suffering. Indeed we Americans have become so sophisticated that at this moment we are having a debate about whether it would be prudent, all things considered, to pass a law that will make torture legal.

Can we call these radical extreme Muslims sophisitcated and civilized? No. We cannot. We must not. Americans- yes. But not the enemy of our times.

Here is a basic truth, understood by all religions and peoples who have not yet sunk into total barbarism: Mortality is only possible if there are certain things we must refuse to do under any circumstances. You do not “balance” the costs and benefits of torturing your fellow men, because it does not profit a man to gain the world if he loses his soul.

Tell the terrorists this. Hold Muslims to this standard. Demand they understand this basic truth. They will spit in your face and cut your head off to spite you, in the process.

But terrorists are not men, we are told: They are amoral monsters. They torture and kill without mercy. They make no distinction between the guilty and the innocent. And thus, it seems, we must become like them.

No, we are not becoming like THEM. How can anyone equate the scene of those two soldiers lives being ended in such a nasty and horrible manner, with slapping, punching, female dancing and waterboarding? There is no comparison. None. This writer is being disingenuous and he is playing with the truth here. He is trying to reach out to the common decency of mankind. Muslims, terrorists, are not decent men.

Too many people are confusing the meaning of torture for political benefit. While all the debate and argument is carried on,stories of true torture continue to occur but the details are hidden from us. We do not do the things our enemies do. We are above that. We don’t film events of torture as a means to recruit our soldiers. We don’t DO THESE things. There is a BIG difference. For some, like the writer of this editorial- it’s all the same: Be headings in the town square and being slapped around. Until he and the others GET it, we will never win this battle against freedom. Never.

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