America is a complicated place.
We have founding principles such as freedom, liberty and the rule of law that have inspired and fostered the spread of democracy. It’s undeniable that the world is a better place because of the United States.
As a superpower, America has injected itself into the affairs of other nations, and not always with the best results, or even the best intentions.
Our consistent pattern, however, is to engage in a painful period of reflection, and sometimes self-flagellation, and then look optimistically ahead to be better in the future.
This week’s Senate report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation of terror suspects after 9/11 has produced another one of those moments. The report, put together by Senate Democrats without Republican input, includes painfully graphic details of coercive interrogation techniques that were used on at least 119 individuals.
For example, Abu Zubaydah, one of the first high-profile al Qaida members captured after 9/11, was waterboarded 83 times during one month, subjected to sleep deprivation and confined in a small box.
Sen. John McCain, (R-AZ), who was tortured while a captive during the Vietnam War, denounces the practices contained in the report. “I know the use of torture compromises that which most distinguishes us from our enemies; our belief that all people, even captured enemies, possess basic human rights which are protected by international conventions.”
That’s a powerful argument from a most credible source. However, remember that we blamed the nation’s intelligence community for not preventing 9/11 and then charged them with making sure we were not attacked again. The success of their efforts can be measured by the safety and security we’ve enjoyed in this country since the attacks.
The Wall Street Journal criticizes the CIA for some poor management and a lack of oversight, but rallies to its defense on the intelligence gathering techniques. “Intelligence work is about combining information from multiple sources, human and technical, to build a mosaic from which terrorist habits can be discerned and perhaps plots discovered. That the interrogations yielded crucial information is beyond dispute,” the Journal opined Wednesday.
It’s a legitimate function of the people’s representatives to question the extent to which our frontline fighters will go in the name of security. However, the safety of the home front provides an artificially high perch from which to pass moral judgment about the actions of those in the line of fire.
All debate leads to the fundamental question: Can we protect America from a barbarous and nihilistic enemy without getting our hands dirty?