#10 / The Three "I"s

The Marine Corps General (retired) who quit the Trump Administration recently, "Mad Dog" Mattis, took the position that the United States should never engage in torture. Let's not forget that the United States has, in fact, systematically engaged in torture in the past  (see picture above, and click the link for a story about it). 

The current head of the CIA, Gina Haspell, was directly implicated in the U.S. torture program, and our current president, Donald Trump, has a "real passion" for bringing back torture. 

When the Secretary of Defense says "no torture," it's pretty clear that torture will not be used by the United States military while he is in charge. General Mattis' resignation, however, may open a path for the president to pursue his "passion," and to reinstute the use of torture by the United States military. 

In a New York Times opinion column, published on December 22, 2018, J. Kael Weston contemplated just such a possibility. Weston teaches at the Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Here is what he said about Mattis and torture: 

General Mattis commanded troops in some of the bloodiest fronts of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Yet he remained cleareyed in his opposition to torture, arguing that it was inhumane, illegal and ineffective.

That sums it up. Torture is: (1) inhumane, (2) illegal, and (3) ineffective.

We need to make sure that our elected representatives in the United States Senate do not confirm anyone as Secretary of Defense who will not promise, unequivocally, that those three "I"s will continue to guide our policy, where torture is concerned. 

NO TORTURE (period) must be the rule. If morality and legality don't do it for you, just remember that torture is "ineffective," too.

Image Credit:

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2004/05/10/torture-at-abu-ghraib