Recently, experts have weighed on the use of harsh interrogation methods by the United States government against terror suspects.
It was only a day ago that the United States Senate Committee on Armed Services had a hearing in regards to harsh interrogation tactics. Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the chairman of the committee had said that former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld had unleashed a virus that threatens all intelligence gathering operations.
Experts have now weighed in on the use of harsh interrogation tactics. It was revealed that lawyers from the United States Army, United States Navy, United States Marine Corps, and the United States Air Force had all submitted formal written objections to such tactics. However, the objections were brushed off by a top legal adviser to the Pentagon.
Now, various experts are saying that the use of harsh interrogation tactics ends up doing more harm than good.
Former US Army intelligence officer Stuart Herrington is one of those experts. He had spoken at a forum on the issue.
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If we use torture when we question prisoners, we forfeit the right to demand that anyone treat our soldiers decently if they are taken prisoner,” Herrington explained. He said that US troops are at risk if the government does use such tactics.
Former CIA and NSA operative Ken Robinson agreed. He said that the United States’ position in the world has deteriorated to the use of harsh interrogation at the prisons at Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.
“We have lost the moral high ground,” Robinson said.
On a side note, the Supreme Court had ruled that the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay do have rights. The ruling was condemned by the administration of US President George W. Bush. It was also condemned by presumed GOP nominee Senator John McCain of Arizona.
However, presumed Democratic nominee Senator Barack Obama of Illinois supported the ruling.
Sarah Mendelson condemned the Bush administration. Mendelson is part of the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, which is the group that hosted the meeting. The group worked along the other group called Human Rights First.
Inevitably, this will be a hot button topic between Obama and McCain in the general election debates.
