Tiahrt defends pro-torture stand

Rep. Todd Tiahrt (R) sent a rebuttal to the The Wichita Eagle, Dec. 23, 2005, defending his stand in support of torture.
In “REP. TODD TIAHRT: REVEALING TACTICS” Tiahrt said:

“The Eagle editorial board accused me of "shameful" activity for opposing an unnecessary provision that banned an activity that is already illegal ("Ban it: Take stand against torture," Dec. 17 editorial).”

Of course, The Eagle was right.

One of his main points:

“What the board and others either refuse to recognize or fail to understand is how this so-called "anti-torture" provision puts our national security in jeopardy. In addition to calling for a ban on activity that is already illegal under Title 18 of the U.S. Code, the provision requires that all U.S. interrogation procedures be documented in the Army Field Manual. This means that terrorists could learn how we will attempt to get information from them, which allows them to be fully prepared for U.S. interrogation if apprehended. This is clearly not in the best interest of the security of our country.”

This is pure paranoia. We constantly condemn other countries for using torture and they all say the same thing; “our national security (is) in jeopardy.” Mr. Tiahrt, have we really sunk that low?










Another argument:
“In fact, 122 members of the House of Representatives opposed the measure, including the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, the chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. In other words, the leaders of every House committee dealing with intelligence and the war on terrorism opposed the McCain amendment.”

He uses the old “everyone is doing it” excuse. All this proves is that there are at least 122 other assholes in the Congress (Not counting the assholes in Washington) about as bad as he is.

Also:
“The U.S. government does not condone torture. Those who have engaged in such despicable abuses, like those at Abu Ghraib, have been punished. The well-publicized scandals are the result of misconduct, a lack of integrity by a few and the policy of none.”

We all know, and evidence is now surfacing, that Abu Ghraib is just the tip of the ice-burg and not an isolated incident. Mr. Tiahrt spends so much of his time fundraising, he probably didn’t look into the matter any further.

And:
“Having been to Iraq and Cuba, I can testify to the high level of treatment afforded to the detainees in U.S. custody. From religious accommodations to culturally sensitive meals, detainees are well-treated. Our troops are faithfully fulfilling and exceeding all domestic and international laws and obligations, including those of the Geneva Conventions.”

Tiahrt misses a lot no matter where he goes. Being intelligent has never been his strong point. But the most idiotic statement he made concerns the Geneva Convention. Was he asleep when our president said the Geneva Convention didn’t apply to these “illegal combatants?”


Tiahrt couldn’t resist this statement:

” but to call it a "shameful" act is both uninformed and unnecessarily antagonistic.”

Actually The Eagle was being easy on him. Most people I know would have called Tiahrt an accomplice to torture, murder and xenophobia.