Regarding NIN music used at Guantanamo Bay for torture

[Comrade Tovya]

megaman79 said:

Comrade Tovya said:
The only funny thing is, the new definition of torture. 100 years ago, torture was considered tearing someone's insides out while they were still alive. Now music is apparently the new ultimate sin.

I like how the Israelis do it. If you scream "Death to the Jews" and plan/initiate a terrorist attack, then you've forfeited your right to to be treated like everyone else. You are considered an open season prisoner who WILL provide any and all information that you know one way or another. That's the way it should be.

To hell with a murderer's rights... if you are a terrorist and kill innocent civilians, then you don't have any rights.

 

You should do some research on definitions of combatants and non-combatants. Im studying terrorism right now and Osama Bin Laden allegedly said that if someone in a democracy votes for a leader, who then declares war and attacks and kills some people, then they are defined as combatants. They contribute to the deaths indirectly. Rules of law say that killing combatants is lawfull within reason. This is why terrorism is so problematic. Definitions of who is responsible exactly is responsible are nearly impossible to determine.

 

 

Definitely.  Unfortunately, leaders throughout history have all defined the term "combatant" with their own personal definition.  From King David to the Caesars to Joseph Stalin... the definition is always changing.

I think as a democratic nation that is supposedly by the people and for the people, we have to throw past definitions out the window and create our own.  In my opinion, if any nation or organizational body on Earth makes a verbal or active action of war against us, we have to use any and all means to protect American citizens (both civilian and soldier). 

If an enemy combatant is captured, and he refuses to provde information that can prevent further American lives from being endangered, then we should use any and all means neccesary to extract such information... even torture should it be neccesary.  I think even calling "music" torture is just silly really.  It can be annoying (I'd hate to have headphones glued to my head playing Kenny G) and it would probably drive me nuts, but it's hardly torture.

But definitely, who is/isn't responsible is very difficult to determine on both sides of any conflict.  In World War II, 2 atomic bombs being dropped on Japan, the sacking of Berlin, and other such actions only validate that point.  But any combatant group that throws the Geneva Convention protocol out the window should expect no less than the same thing to happen to them.

What I mean is, our current enemies in Afghanistan and Iraq (and elsewhere) believe that civilians are open game.  They torture, behead, and kill anyone regardless of their role in the conflict (or lack thereof).  There have been dozens of cases of Leftist groups going of there and showing support for the enemy, and still being beheaded as infidels. 

Therefore, if we respond to civilian murder and physical torture/beheadings with "music" torture, I would certainly think that it is safe to say that at the very least we are the lesser of two evils.  If NIN thinks "torture" is so bad, they should use their soapbox to unequivically condemn and scream out against the attrocities our enemies perform against us, and not waste our time with sob stories of "poor" enemies being forced to listen to music that's not of their favored taste.