Froomkin destroys Krauthammer

[Enrique]

this is WashPost-on-WashPost violence

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/white-house-watch/torture/krauthammers-asterisks.html

Krauthammer's Asterisks

Charles Krauthammer, in his Washington Post opinion column this morning, tries to find loopholes for impermissible evil.

"Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances," he writes.

"The first is the ticking time bomb. An innocent's life is at stake. The bad guy you have captured possesses information that could save this life. He refuses to divulge. In such a case, the choice is easy."

Actually, no. The ticking time bomb scenario only exists in two places: On TV and in the dark fantasies of power-crazed and morally deficient authoritarians. In real life, things are never that certain. And trained interrogators say that even in the most extreme circumstances, traditional methods are the most effective.

(...)

[DrDan]

1. krauthammer is an idiot in an oversized suit

I can't believe anyone would listen to that clown.

[Warpy]

2. Let's take a closer look at that ticking time bomb

First, the bad guy knows when it will go off and that's how long the torture is going to last. The worst part of torture is not knowing how long it will last. Knowing takes part of the anguish out of it.

Second, he's got all the reasons in the world to send his tormentors off on wild goose chase after wild goose chase. Remember, he's only interested in making it stop for a while, not in telling them the truth. He wants that bomb to go off, not get found.

Third, in the case of the ticking nuke, which is what the righties love to scare themselves sillier over, he's already given himself up for dead. He knows it's all going to be over in a flash of heat and light and that his tormentors are going to accompany him. That's serious motivation to tell them a lot of bullshit no matter what they do.

No matter how horrible you are to a guy who wants to keep a secret, you'll just motivate him to give you more bullshit just to make you stop.

However, if you uncuff him, hand him a cup of coffee and a cigarette, and joke with him, you might just get something useful out of him, a hint that could lead you to that ticking bomb/kidnapped child/sex slave.

[Qutzupalotl]

3. All good points. nt

[Canuckistanian]

4. And that what senior interrogators say works

Get them talking. Ask them about their family and friends. If they get chatty, they're BOUND to give a clue to something REAL you can work with.

It takes time, sure. But waterboarding someone 183 times was a COMPLETE waste of time.