Proud of Waterboarding

In an op-ed piece published in the April 28th edition of the Crescent News, Deroy Murdock argued that Americans should be proud of the post 9/11 practice of water-boarding because it has been effective in thwarting recent terrorist activity, and while there is no evidence that directly correlates "harsh interrogations" to accurate actionable intelligence, I will, for the sake of this letter, accept the assumption that water-boarding works.

What I will not accept is the assumption that, because water-boarding is an effective technique, it follows that it is a successful one, and I will certainly NOT take its use as a point of pride. For an action to be successful, it must not only demonstrate efficacy, but must also prove valuable in terms of context and precedent, and to be worthy of pride, it must be ethical as well.

In terms of context, the consequences of water-boarding have yet to be fully realized, but have emerged as some troubling trends. Domestically, it has become a politically divisive issue, with those on the right touting its successes, and those on the left decrying its harsh nature. Regardless of the merit of either argument, such division weakens our nation. It makes our leaders hesitant to act, our officials reluctant to work together, and our citizens suspicious of their peers. In terms of foreign policy, water-boarding has become an additional black mark on our record as a member of the world community. When our country engages in ethically and legally questionable actions we risk the moral imperative that affords the U.S. its stature as world leader and sacrifice our diplomatic power, which in turn, imperils the very security those actions purport to protect.

The precedents set by water-boarding are far reaching and dangerous. In allowing the harsh treatment of terrorist suspects, the U.S. government has chosen to ignore the basic tenets of the Geneva Convention which states "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever." (Part III Section I Article 17). Ignoring the rule of law in regards to prisoners in this instance leaves the door open for even more egregious behavior in the future, but what is truly worrisome is that this precedent is set not only for U.S. intelligence agencies, but for its enemies as well.

Perhaps the most important and troubling factor in determining water-boarding's success or worth is its ethics. The right often describes the U.S. is a Christian nation. It is ironic then that those same people choose to sacrifice those values in regards to the treatment of our prisoners. In Matthew, Jesus said "Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance...For I was...in prison and you came to visit me" (25:34-36). It is not just Christianity, but every mainstream ethos from Buddhism to Hindu to...yes...even