Ted Koppel To Deliver First BBC Op-Ed Tonight on Torture

[struggle4progress]

Monday, May 11

... TVNewser has obtained an early transcript of the segment. "Torture should be, clearly and unambiguously, against the law; as it is for those who safeguard our homes and streets domestically," says Koppel.

"Is it possible that a threat to national security and the lives of many Americans may, at a subsequent trial, be determined to have justified the violation of that law? May a presidential pardon be warranted? Perhaps. But moral clarity and America's standing in the world demand that the burden of proof be on those who can find no alternative to torture" ...

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/bbc/ted_koppel_to_deliver_first_bbc_oped_tonight_on_torture_116185.asp

[KansDem]

1. So this is how they're going to spin it?

Is it possible that a threat to national security and the lives of many Americans may, at a subsequent trial, be determined to have justified the violation of that law?

Yeah, sure...break laws to "protect" us. :eyes:

[struggle4progress]

2. The Torture Debate Is Not Yet Over (Koppel)

... Under certain circumstances, then, torture is either an imperative or it is not. Quibbling about definitions is merely a distraction. When a technique induces such fear and stress, so much emotional and physical pain, that it causes a victim to break and reveal what he has desperately tried to withhold, that is torture, no matter how sanitary the environment. If we would define a given technique as torture when it is inflicted on a citizen of ours, then that is also torture when our interrogators employ the methods. We know what it is. We know there are times when extraordinary circumstances will lead to its use no matter what our public claims.

Having said that, torture should be, clearly and unambiguously, against the law; as it is for those who safeguard our homes and streets domestically. Cases are thrown out of court because essential evidence was extracted under duress. Occasionally, brutal cops and correctional officers are even prosecuted and imprisoned. That has not led to the elimination of torture in our precincts and prisons, but it is a deterrent.

Let those who violate our stated national principles on torture be put on notice. It is against American law no matter where or under what circumstances it is employed; and violations of that law will lead to prison ...

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104023978