ShadowMonkey - Torture and the Dogs of War

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Torture and the Dogs of War

Written by DarqueWing

Wednesday, 25 October 2006

A version of this essay by DarqueWing originally appeared in the comments section of "Dear Senators - CIA Letter on Torture." I recently read through it again, and, feeling that it provides a very interesting civilian perspective on the use of torture, decided it was well worth posting as a full story. -sm

I've never been tortured. Nor have I ever served in the military. I'm not cut out for that kind of thing, and I'm willing to admit it. I think the rationale of defense is enough to justify having armed forces filled with expertly trained killers, armed to the teeth and ready to destroy anything, anyone, anywhere, anytime. These are the Dogs of War, after all - let them be vicious.

The Dogs of War, however, must have a leash. And that leash must be held by men and women of conscience, people who understand the value of human life and have a vested interest in preserving it however possible. Those trained killers, in a perfect world, will never be used. Diplomacy, rationalization, negotiation - these are the tools of a civilized nation, and the leash can only be cut once all those tools have utterly failed. The very nanosecond that all civilized means of discourse have been eliminated, those Dogs of War must be ready to instantly execute the will of the people.

This is why, even though I'm no military man, I'm so proud of those who serve: they have the unenviable task of being a last resort. Despite all the moral objections that prevent me from doing what they do, they manage to not only perform, but to be the absolutely highest-quality, mightiest military force the world has ever known. My own notions of peace, tranquility, and pacifism would be as out of place in the Marines as an M-16 would be in my hands - and that's the way it should be.

But torture? Where does that fit into this? Perhaps, to the men and women in uniform, the idea of torture seems quaint compared to the sheer destruction that they are capable of wielding. But to those of us on the other side of the equation, those of us who are ruled by conscience and not by conflict, torture represents a regression to an earlier state of mankind, and can never be a way forward. We're supposed to be better than that, period. The second we start dealing in torture, we're no better off than if Al Qaeda was running the Senate. Torture deserves the same fate as absolute monarchies, slavery, arbitrary executions, and governance by religion: lost to the sands of time, gone, never to be touched again, no matter the cost.

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