Why does Bush believe that torturing prisoners will win the war on terror?

Question

As an American, I find this level of thinking to be absolutely counter-productive and barbaric!

Are we AMERICANS or are we Nazis?

Why must we sink to the level of our enemies in order to beat them?

Has anyone REALLY thought about what will happen if this continues? What the consequences and ramifications will be for us as a whole?

Or do we simply not care anymore about what this nation was built and bled upon?

(I want some intelligent answers, not the usual "con vs. lib" garbage.)

Wow. Some people still think we must "torture" in order to stop plots inside our country?

At what point have we stopped being Americans?

(And no, I'm not a "hippie" either.)

Judging by the writing on the wall, I can see that there are some of those people still in this country who care little for their own national image and feel compelled to visit misery and pain on others because they themselves feel grossly inadequate.

If I am wrong on this, then why is it that the rest of the world feels like we've done something unconscienable which goes against the GRAIN of our own beliefs and morals as a democratic nation?

Don't you see? You're doing EXACTLY what the terrorists want you to do!

If you haven't figured it out by now, FORCE doesn't work with terrorists. They thrive on it! Even if you can't reason with them, it doesn't mean that using all out might will make them change their minds.

They'll still be there, and you'll still be left frustrated and holding the bag, and wondering WHY your so-called superior firepower has failed.

Answer 1

As a heart felt Democrat, I must apologize to the other posters for idiots that post questions that are really rants.

I want to have discussions with Republicans and Libertarians, not just point fingers.

I wish there could be some intelligent discussion of political issues on Yahoo Answers.

Answer 2

1. How do you define torture?
2. We must do whatever is needed to get information out of terrorists. We must do things like keeping them awake for long periods of time, making them very uncomfortable, and making them think we will kill them if they do not talk.
3. There are no protections in the Geneva convention for terrorists. They do not fight under a country, wear uniforms, show their weapons in public. They do not qualify.
4. Terrorists do not follow any civilized form of warfare.
5. They are our enemy. We must be willing to do whatever is needed to protect our country. Too many Americans do not understand the threat we face. Either they will win and we are nuked or we will win and they will die. Their starting point is America must die. How do you compromise with this??????

I do not care about our image in the world. True leadership must work passed this. There will always be people who do not like us, so what? I do not care what France thinks about us.

The media and many liberals, Democrats, and moronic Republicans like McCain, Graham, and Warner, have politicized this issue and grossly misrepresented it.

They have stood against torture and not specifically mentioned what they are against. They have only done this for political reasons. I cannot wait until 2008 and the Republican party can tell McCain to flip off. He has no chance of winning the Republican nomination. I do not know what has happened to him. He was a POW in Vietnam and was really tortured.

Did you see the O'Reilly show earlier in the week. He has a reporter Brian Ross from ABC. There is a link on http://www.billoreilly.com.

Ross is the most respected reporter in his business. He mentioned that there are at least 12 terror attacks we stopped by doing what politicans call torture.

I cannot say anything more to you. You are on the wrong side of this issue.

Answer 3

I don't remember Bush saying that he believes "torturing prisoners will win the war on terror." I guess I missed that one. I do know that those prisoners who confessed that a plan was in the works to blow up U.S. bound planes from England with liquid explosives had been "water boarded." Indeed, that isn't much fun, but nobody's fingernails were pulled out or anything.

Allow me to point out that the Geneva Convention supposedly protects uniformed soldiers who are members of conventional armies and not terrorists who commit mass murder for the "glory of Allah." Traditionally, it has been the U.S. who has stringently followed the Convention rules whereas American soldiers in almost every war/conflict since WWI have not been afford the same protection.

If it is necessary to torture a terrorist to get information that is going to save people's lives as happened with the liquid explosives, I don't really have a problem with it.

Answer 4

The conflict isn't over yet, meaning the winner keeps to be unknown. Like optimal wars, some battles are won; some battles are lost. regularly occurring it could properly be honest to declare that Bush is rather forward indoors the conflict on terror. easily Osama Bin encumbered has made little progression on his important purpose, which improve into the overthrow of corrupt governments indoors the Mid-East to be replaced by potential of means of the caliphate spanning the entire Ottoman Empire of previous. There are easily 2 fledgling democracies in Iraq and Afghanistan that are easily not out of the woods yet, yet are clarification for tempered optimism. The Sunnis brutally suppressed the Shiite in Iraq for some years so it is going to take it gradual for the revenge and counter revenge to play out. yet optimal heavily, Bush has secured coorperation from the two the Saudis and the Pakistanis in this conflict on terrorists. via actuality Bush's purpose has been containment, it will be judged a fulfillment. via actuality OBL's purpose improve into enlargement and restructuring of the political map of the mid east it will be judged a failure. of course the approaches and execution of the yank risk-free practices rigidity promoting and marketing campaign ought to have been crisper. The acsendency of Iran as a hegemonic potential indoors the section is hard. yet on a matching time the conflict is being won. although, that is not being won as on the instant away via actuality the U. S. elctorate ought to desire to love, and that is not being won without casualties, so the Bush adminsitration has attracted numerous complaint. yet is Bush winning the conflict on terror: valuable he's!

Answer 5

Everyone is concerned about the Geneva Convention and its rules being broken. I hate to break everyones bubble but here goes. When the Vietnam War was going on do you honestly think they supported the Laws. No they tortured American military to death. They did without food and water. They didn't have nice facilities to go to the bathroom. No other country in the world follows the Geneva Convention but the USA. Do some digging it won't hurt. We get prisoners of war who are soldiers and treat them with respect. Show me one of those terrorists in a uniform. These are private individuals that are dieing for a cause not a war. There cause is this, they want to rule the world in their state of mind. They think they should kill anyone who does not accept their thoughts. They think that your finger tips and mine should be cut off so we will agree with the Muslim theory. Sorry I will not pay a head tax nor will I serve their Moon God. I will not wear a ha-bib nor will I confess to their Allah.http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/moongod.htm I would suggest to you to start doing a little research on your own to see exactly who you are defending.

Answer 6

I absolutely hate the naivety of so many pampered Americans. Most people in the world do not have it as easy as we do. Third world nations especiallly operate on a much more basic survival level than we do. I have lived in the Middle East and I can tell you that they have NO respect for the "let's just all try to understand each other" mentality of the Westerners. They respect power and a firm resolve. They have nothing but disdain for people like you apparently are who function from the "Let's just all try to get along" philosophy. Name one major international disagreement that was truly resolved by just sitting down and talking versus the aggressive use of force to MAKE THEM SIT DOWN AND TALK.

Answer 7

We are Americans. Nazi's took innocent civillians off the streets, gased them and then burned their bodies, or they let them live, working for them doing mind-numbing tasks until they died. The Vietnamese did some truly horrific torture that is essentially umcompareable to anything, you should read up on it. The terrorists cut heads off of people, then air it on TV, and the parents of the person who had their head cut off witnesses it.

We are Americans! We torture in order to get info. to protect America as a whole. Why did the rest torture? Was it to protect anyone?

Answer 8

The premise of your question is wrong. President Bush does not advocate torturing prisoners. You have been listening to Senator McCain too long. The Administration advocates using legal interrogation techniques to get information from terrorists. The Supreme Court, in one of its all-time goofy rulings, thinks Congress should write a law that defines legal interrogation techniques. Like always, Congress is ducking the hard issues.
We obviously are not Nazis. Your anti-Bush bias is showing.
Our government has the solemn responsibility to protect everyone in the US, and our officials should do anything and everything they have to, to accomplish that Constitutionally required mandate.
Government, by policy, does not torture and no one in the Administration condones torture. To say otherwise amounts to slander.
I condone torture, if it becomes necessary. I want my government to protect me from attack by savage Islamo-fascists. I don't care what anyone thinks about me or my country. Just don't mess with me and my country.

Answer 9

I don't think he expects that in and of itself will defeat terrorism. I think he believes it will divert the next terrorist act--which in several cases it has.
There is no dealing with these people. They are not soldiers. They have no honor. Remember these are people that will blow up innocent people to prove a point.
I was watching someone from Amnesty International giving alternatives to "torturing" and they said--"trick them". Yeah that'll work. These people flew friggin planes into buildings with many innocent people. But we're going to trick them. OK.

Answer 10

Never been to war have you? You do what you can to win.

I bled, we should sink to whatever level we need to to win.

We appreciate you wanting intelligent answers, but better thought out questions would produce such.

If you have never been there it is hard to rationalize what is right or wrong. When you look at your friend dying in your arms from a bomb thrown by some one whose rights we did not want to violate, all of the rhetoric disappears.

Our nation was built on winning, fast hard and mean. Not by berating the President every chance we get. Not by being nice and cozy. What ever makes you think that it was not done before? Things happened that people like you would turn green about. What atrocities will it take for you to get off of the soap box and take a deep look at reality?

If we torture them, they torture us? They do anyway, they just do not allow bleeding hearts to stop them. It is war, not sandbox soldiers.