Donald Trump’s stunning advocacy of torture is the latest sign that the candidate has gone off the dangerous edge of his own flat-earth platform. He, and much of the rest of the GOP field of presidential candidates, appear hell bent on confirming the world’s worst possible views of what Americans are like.
Of course, torture is illegal. It’s considered illegal under U.S. law, and under our international obligations. And the fact that Trump doesn’t mind trumpeting his own more sadistic tendencies is a dismal indication of how low American political debate has fallen.
Here’s just a bit of the reporting on and reaction to his pro-war crimes campaign.
“Trump and Cruz idiotically refuse to face the facts about torture,” from The Guardian via Raw Story.
There was once a consensus that torture was immoral; even today, any sensible person knows torture is of little use if you want accurate information. Yet the current crop of Republican presidential candidates have been trying to outbid one another with promises of barbarism: Senator Ted Cruz confirmed that he favours simulated drowning, which he classifies as an “enhanced interrogation technique” (EIT) that falls short of torture. (The Spanish Inquisition was rather more honest, and called it tortura del agua.) “The Donald” immediately trumped his rival : he would “bring back a hell of a lot worse than waterboarding”.
“Trump’s call to bring back torture alarms professional interrogators,” McClatchyDC.
Hard-nosed interrogators who say they’ve thwarted terror attacks in the United States by extracting key information from suspects have a message for Donald Trump, the Republican front-runner, who’s vowing to bring back waterboarding and even harsher questioning techniques if elected president:
Don’t do it.
“Trump’s Impeachable Offense,” truth dig.
First, the federal Torture Act stipulates that if an American soldier, CIA officer, or anybody else acting on behalf of the government waterboards a prisoner, he risks up to 20 years imprisonment. The McCain-Feinstein Amendment Congress passed last year reiterated the ban on torture, including waterboarding.
Second, our country is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture. Waterboarding a prisoner is against international law and could subject the torturer — or the person ordering or approving the torture — to international sanctions, including prosecution in international courts.
“CIA would refuse to comply with Trump’s torture order, former officials say,” Newsweek via RawStory.
Former CIA and FBI interrogators have said publicly that such measures not only violate Geneva Convention prohibitions on torture, but are not as effective in the long run as breaking down prisoners with other techniques. Frazier Thompson, who heads the federal unit that interrogates key terrorism suspects, added his voice to that message this week, telling NPR that “rapport-based techniques elicit the most credible information.”
“Normalizing torture one interview at a time,” Digby’s Hullabaloo.
I’m sickened, literally, whenever I hear Trump say this stuff and get huge cheers. but why wouldn’t he? The media doesn’t see it as a problem. At this point I don’t know what depravity Trump could recommend to deal with terrorism that would make the press confront him to his face. It’s true they did get worked up about his making fun of a disabled reporter, which was revolting, so that’s promising. But they have a ways to go.
“Draft-Dodger Trump Said Sleeping Around Was My ‘Personal Vietnam’“, The Daily Beast
In a 1997 interview with shock jock Howard Stern, Trump talked about how he had been “lucky” not to have contracted diseases when he was sleeping around.
“I’ve been so lucky in terms of that whole world. It is a dangerous world out there. It’s scary, like Vietnam. Sort of like the Vietnam-era,” Trump said in a video that resurfaced Tuesday on Buzzfeed, “It is my personal Vietnam. I feel like a great and very brave soldier.”
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Amazing how the politicians who are most in favor of torturing are the ones who are draft dodgers or just plain weakling type personalities. They are so macho and brave behind their money and power, but if they were faced with a dangerous situation, they’d be the first to duck and run.
On some level, Trump understands that much of his outrageous bluster is just that. He also knows that it has been effective at providing nonstop free publicity and attracting the crowd he courts: people who are fearful and frustrated, often with damn good cause, poorly educated, receptive to simplistic populist rhetoric that at least appears to acknowledge their fears and frustrations, and who don’t necessarily want to think about it too hard. It would not be surprising if he actually wins.
A similar demographic is susceptible to inane and disastrous ballot initiatives, like California’s infamous initial Three Strikes measure, which mandated life sentences for repeat felons later convicted of such nonviolent crimes as filching a slice of pizza. It’s amazing that some would naively promote a state initiative process here, where quite a few of those who even bother to vote are all too susceptible to devious propaganda and utter nonsense if it might make them feel better. Is the alternative, an informed citizenry and responsive and effective leadership, really too much for us to hope for?
Yes, this latest statement about torture is ridiculous and inflammatory. So was his statement about John McCain, Megyn Kelly, Mexicans crossing the border, Syrian refugees, etc etc etc etc,…
Congratulations for being the umpteenth blogger/media person who thinks the “Have you no decency?” approach that worked against Joe McCarthy in the ’50s is going to derail Trump’s drive to the GOP nomination in 2016. The general election cycle will be different, but for now, this kind of stuff just galvanizes Trump’s supporters. Best thing for anyone really opposed to Trump’s campaign would be to ignore him and all the stuff he’s saying. Make him starve for attention and publicity. Enable the other GOP candidates to have their opinions and proposals aired instead of letting Trump suck all the air out of the room with whatever outrageous nonsense he wants to spew. But no. Everyone can’t help but taking their shot at Trump…and playing right into his hands.
I agree with Allen N. that ignoring Trump would be the better course. But like boycotting a product or a store when no one knows you are doing it, the underlying problem won’t be solved.
At least we can do no harm.
Now, if only someone could come up with a counter-Trump strategy that would make a difference. Or is it really inevitable that he wins the GOP nomination and possibly gets all the way to the Oval Office?
This presidential race has been way too long and for most of it up to now, nothing has actually happened.
Except for Trump, the Republican field is boring as crop reports, so the press developed a symbiotic relationship with Trump. They got stories, he got attention. The same with Bernie. Face it, Hillary is boring, all policy and wonkiness. The grey people who might actually be able to govern have been displaced by people who give good ratings.
The presidential race has become the ultimate television reality show, Survivor on steroids and it hasn’t cost the networks a dime. And of course Trump even had his own reality show before, the Apprentice.
Maybe things will change, once something actually starts happening, with primaries. Or not. . .
We have a milquetoast president who inspires neither love of us nor fear of us among belligerent dictators who pose a danger not only to us but to the whole world — a president who probably wants to be the next Secretary General of the United Nations and is already acting as a “citizen of the world” instead of our defender. Russia invades and takes over all of Crimea and half of Ukraine, threatening the Baltic nations; while Obama just sits there crying and shaking in his boots. North Korea now tests nuclear bombs and intercontinental missiles in defiance of U.N resolutions; while Obama just sits there. China turns reefs into artificial islands and now places missiles on them threatening shipping lanes and air traffic; while Obama just sits there. The Islamic State saws off peoples’ headsin the name of Allah and sends terrorists to murder hundreds of people in France, California, etc. while Obama refuses to utter the phrase “Islamic terrorism” and sends a few warplanes which return home with their bombs unused because of Obama’s orders that we must not bomb IS trucks for fear we might injure “innocent” drivers. Obama negotiates a deal with Iran allowing Iran to build nuclear weapons after a few years, having previously announced that they will wipe Israel off the map, and Obama sends $150 Billion to them because, hey, it was really their money all along. The bad guys do evil deeds with no censure from Ian, but Ian worries that Trump’s mere words are erratic and scary. Maybe we need a president whose words are scary enough to make the bad guys stop doing bad things. Maybe we need a president who is unpredictable, who plays his hand with a poker face and the bad guys don’t know whether he’s bluffing or getting ready to take all their lunch money. Lefties who love Sanders should understand that righties love Trump for the same reason — being fed up with the “establishment” and ready for a revolution in word and deed. The bad guys aren’t kidding around, and neither should we. Obama said 8 years ago that he wanted to “fundamentally change America” and he has been astonishingly successful in doing it; whereas Trump says he wants to “make America great again” — a worthy goal if we’re not already too far gone for a comeback.
A white supremacist who hates Obama? Shocking.
@Larry:
Contrary to what you say, incessant Trump bashing has been harmful, as it has consumed so much airtime, bandwidth, and newspaper ink that it has left almost nothing to allow more moderate candidates like John Kasich to get his message across to the voters.
I don’t know what Trump plans to do during the general election cycle, but his GOP primary strategy has been clear to me a long time ago. Say the most provacative and outrageous things, drown out the messaging of the other GOP candidates, and cruise his way to the nomination because his base of supporters won’t abandon him, no matter what kind of offensive garbage comes out of his mouth or his Twitter account. And that strategy has worked out beautifully for Trump. By giving Trump so much coverage, even if much of it is negative, the media has been played like a violin.
I mean, did anyone reading this column not know beforehand that Trump was a blowhard and a demagogue? Anyone who has been following the presidential campaign has known it long ago. Nothing practical is accomplished by piling on with yet another Trump bashing. But maybe if members of the media took some time out from wall-to-wall Trump and wrote something meaningful about proposals from Rubio or Kasich, that would allow viewers/readers to learn more about the candidates and to think about issues that are truly of substance.
But nah. Go ahead and continue with wall-to-wall Trump, if you want. Just remember that you will have played a part in handing the nomination to him. And when that happens, hoo boy! Better hope and pray that Hillary doesn’t get indicted.
not surprised that conklin is turned on by trump, but even he should realize that it’s ridiculous to believe trump’s words could ever be “scary enough to make the bad guys stop doing bad things,” or that the u.s. should somehow take on russia, china, and n. korea militarily, and simultaneously, or at least launch a big tongue lashing assault, and that obama is just a wussy for not doing so.
“revolution” is a pretty big word.
trump shows all the potential to be as much of a “belligerent dictator” as he is allowed to be. that won’t make america great again, no matter how good his unhinged rhetoric appeals to the easily impressed and reality challenged.
but his belligerent antics could make him the perfect villain for our opponents to rally against.
Conklin can’t really believe that Trump is not part of the “Establishment”or that he plans to implement some sort of
“revolution.” Examine his website and his “program” is indistinguishable from decades old Republican boilerplate.
So what branch of the military did you serve, Ken.?In your case PHD. Doesn’t mean descent or humane.your comment is absolutely disgusting. I have not been pleased with OBAMA, but it is because he has not earned that NOBEL Peace prize.
Wow. This stuff about Trump and torture really hurt the man in South Carolina, didn’t it? Hey, how about an article exposing Trump’s recounting of Gen. Pershing dipping bullets in pig’s blood to kill Muslims? Now that will SURELY, DEFINITELY derail the Trump campaign before Super Tuesday, right? LOL!
And if the media and blogosphere are only now coming to terms with the reality that what the other GOP candidates really needed to boost their campaigns was greater opportunities to get their share of facetime and newsprint instead of 24/7 Trump bashing, then I’m afraid that realization may have come too late to salvage their chances.