Should civilized nations use "Enhanced Interrogation" techni

[kandrathe]

I know the moral high ground can get you and others killed while if you don't take that route you can save lives. But I also got indoctrinated at a young at that just being a citizen of this country means you may have to pay that price because we believe in that high ground. It was supposed to be one of the things I could believe was great about this country.

Yeah, I see that point as well. In a way, thinking back to the US revolutionary war... The British had a "higher" ethic in warfare than the colonists did, and they probably lost the war because of it. They did not target officers, while we did. They did not engage in guerrilla tactics, while we did. They followed the "honorable" method of warfare where lines of infantry, and cavalry took positions across from each other on the battlefield, and then when everyone seemed to be ready at the blast of a trumpet they marched at each other and when in range would fire their muskets. Whenever the British deviated from that professional decorum, they were blasted for it in the American propaganda rags. The Americans, being severely outnumbered rarely engaged in that honorable style of warfare. Instead focused on winning the war by means of attrition and frustration. And, in that the media was biased and here in America, the Colonists always won the propaganda war. So, I wonder, when we are dealing with an ideology such as fundamentalist Islam, and the methods used against us are random acts of violence meant to create an atmosphere of terror and dissatisfaction with our leaders, whether sometimes we are trying to hold the high moral ground, but losing the war.

Sometimes I view this struggle against tyranny like a tug of war, and every time we weaken our resolve the rope moves closer to their side. We give Hugo Chavez a kiss on the cheek, they win a little. We bend over for Castro, they win a little more. We don't react when Daniel Ortega ridicules the US, and we lose a little more. Our President travels around the world prostrating himself before the world, offering apologies for American arrogance, and we lose a little more. We gut our military again, and humiliate the American agencies who are doing their best to protect the nation, and we have lost more ground. How long does it take to forget the lesson of 911? I guess about two Presidential terms is the limit of American will power. Yes, I know it is not so one dimensional, but it feels this way sometimes.

I guess their are two ways to lose the war, one is as I said, to focus on preserving principles at the expense of the overall objective, and the other would be to lose our principles and become equivalent to the enemy. There is also the danger of creating cynicism in the hypocrisy of espousing the high principles, while never actually following them. When we choose allies like Israel, Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, or Abu Dhabi, and our enemies are guilty of much, much worse, are we in danger of blurring our morality and losing our principles as well?