The Immorality of Torture | National Catholic Reporter

The Immorality of Torture | National Catholic Reporter by MSW. MGB: The reason for any violence can only be danger - does it mitigate the danger or not - whether it is a dangerous pregnancy or a a dangerous terrorist.  That is an ethical statement, not a religious one.  It is also the standard to be used in these instances.  Any Christian stance was corrupted by the desire of the Crusaders to rescue the Holy Land (and the continued desire to place the Jews there).  Christians are the danger historically and until forgiveness is sought - seeking a biblical response is dizzying and at best as Neo-conservative as Dick Cheney.  As to Khalid Sheiek Mohammed, he expected to be tortured and the operators were amazed at what he could take.



His perception was that we were evil and we simply confirmed it.  Why torture?  Its not for information - it is to force submission.  Those tortured gave more information both before and after under FBI non-violence torture techniques.



As to responsibility, the nation was in fear at this point and it showed its fear by letting torture happen and even thinking it should.  Fear and love have no place in the same heart.  Our political leaders at the time, first among them being Dick Cheney (who was operating his own foreign policy if you read the book Angler by Barton Gellman), used that fear to justify this program.  While Bush did not renounce these policies, he did pull the plug and Cheney and the policies stopped.  Should he have hung his Vice President in the wind?  Maybe, but he did not.  He did make him the least active Vice President in history after that point - so you can't say Cheney was not punished.  Indeed, having an empty desk and no mandate may have been worse on Cheney than giving him the public forum of a trial.



So what is the Christian thing to do with Dickey Boy?  That is really what we are asking - forgive him though he has not sought it?  Hold him up for public ridicule and try him so that he can spend the rest of his life in a cage?  Should this part of the debate be Christian or should it be under American and International Law and for what end?  Would he be the scapegoat for expunging our fear  and responsibility - which are somewhat rate - but not real in terms of our direct endorsement of these practices?  There was not pro-torture candidate in the 2008 elections - and maybe that was enough.  Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama made the decision not to seek either impeachment or trail.  Maybe that is our answer on the Christian ethics of this situation.  Whether a future President seeks an indictment (the statute of limitations does not end or torture) is an open question, likely to be answered by God as Cheney ages and dies in what most will call ignominy.