One note: You are absolutely correct in asserting that many of the techniques do NOT give valid info. That is an exceptional observation, and a correct one. Which is why the U.S. military does not employ them. With out getting into specifics because I simply can't......."torture" is only an extremely small part of SERE school, and the other stuff...well that is how to really extract what you need out of someone. "That" however is not up for discussion by me.


by Shakell (shaun_kelley85@yahoo.com) on Thu Sep 14th, 2006 at 06:20:19 PM EDT
[ Parent ]

     A. Attention Statement
Surely everyone has at some time in their life been falsely accused of something terrible. Even worse, you may have been accused of this while actually trying to help the situation. Remember how frustrating it was to try and prove your innocence. You may have even gone through a phase of anger. It was only a misunderstanding but the consequences may have been disastrous.
     B. Subject or Thesis Statement
Now we should address this brutal rhetoric about human rights violations by the U.S. military in the war on terror.
     C. Significance of Subject
It is vitally important to protect the ethical intentions of America's mission in the war on terror abroad and at home. If we undermine the fact that our extension of the fight, namely the military, is operating in a manner that is inconsistent with a democratic nation attempting to rid the world of terror, then many may view us as no better than those who spread terror themselves.
     D. Point Preview
Today we will discuss some problems that can be identified as rhetoric of human rights violations against the military, what reasons cause this rhetoric to reach the international public, and what we can do to make a difference and gain back some of the truth in this conflict.
II. Main Point One: Problem
     A. Subject Statement
Currently the spin and confusion on the situation of human rights violations by the U.S. comes in several forms. The most visible and widespread is that of the media reporting on these stories. Another is politicians who in an attempt to do the right thing sometimes end up spreading the wrong image and lastly the viewpoint by individuals abroad that we are actively engaging in, and it is our policy to, violate human rights of detainees in the war on terror.
     B. Documentation: Problem I
According to aim.org last updated June 25, 2005 the media has a duty to the American public and to the members of the military to produce concrete, verifiable evidence which details accusations of human rights violations in full. Many view these human rights comments as a hostile attempt to dishonor the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces who are serving their country in dangerous regions, including Iraq and Afghanistan.
     C. Illustration
The media runs stories from independent agencies that call Guantanamo Bay a gulag, or Soviet death camp, and members of Capitol Hill that compare American troops to Nazi's, but then fails to mention the good quality of life that has been created specifically for the detainees. Rule 18 in the Al Qaeda training manual is to make false claims of torture, a missed detail in the mainstream media. What's worse is that the media seems to uncritically accept the torture claims made by these detainees in the face of this rule. Prominent members of the media have even said that the U.S. military deliberately targets journalists and their studios with impunity, American or otherwise. They have said this without a single shred of evidence.
     D. Signpost Statement One
The news agencies may report inaccurately but what is to be said about our very own publicly elected officials, the American politicians?
     E. Documentation: Problem II
 A May 16th, 2005 article in the Los Angeles Times states that "John Yoo, a law professor at UC Berkeley, wrote a series of memos redefining torture advising that the Geneva conventions do not apply to members of Al Qaeda. In response Sen. Edward Kennedy demanded from the senate floor last month that Yoo and others be held responsible as war criminals for their part in what he called the torture scandal by American soldiers at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
     F. Illustration
As you can see this in itself is the logical fallacy known as false cause. The senator only wants what's best for America for sure; however, this struggle over what is right in this conflict and what is wrong can distort the facts and create rhetoric. Former President Bill Clinton said that Guantanamo Bay needs to be closed down or cleaned up. He also said in reference to the torture allegations that if you rough up somebody bad enough they'll eventually tell you whatever you want to hear to get you to stop. Exactly the reason the military doesn't engage purposefully in torture, because it can lead to false intelligence. Senator Dick Durbin was the one to compare American treatment of prisoners to that of the Soviet gulags. Later he apologized, his intentions good however, his judgment flawed.
     G. Signpost Statement Two
Our leaders in Washington have pure intentions, just as our troops do, but the message can become clouded and misleading which has spread the wrong image about America and our treatment of detainees.
     H. Documentation: Problem III
     According to usatoday.com last updated July 20, 2005 the accusation that detainee abuse is policy is wrong. A pentagon investigation presented to the senate found no link between alleged misconduct and defense department policy. A small amount of physical abuse emerges from individual behavior, not official policy.
     I. Illustration
The U.S. military does not engage actively in sanctioned torture. This is your military we are talking about. These are fathers, mothers, aunts and uncles, brothers and sisters that many in America know and love. They are neighbors and friends and colleagues and when you look around you do you really think that anyone in this room would obey orders to torture another human being. Why then do so many around the world and at home believe the troops are capable of such things. The viewpoint that it is a conscience effort by the American government, which is of the people, can lead to an impression that we are a country who is out to impose our will and commit atrocities to reach that end.
     J. Summary Statement
So as we have seen there are many ways in which this perception of the violation of human rights by the American military can manifest itself. The problem this presents is that it can affect our trust of one another, our way of life, the view of our government and democracy and fuel the fire for our enemies.
     K. Transition Statement
Now that we understand the problems that create and stem from this rhetoric of human rights violations and alleged detainee torture lets take a look at what causes create these problems.
III. Main Point Two: Causes
     A. Subject Statement
Media and their sources with inaccurate data, politicians and their leanings and beliefs, and the general dispute about whether or not the detainees can even be considered prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention are the causes for the spread of so much rhetoric about the U.S. and human rights violations.
     B. Documentation
According to the July 21st, 2005 issue of the Lantern if there is any bias in the media objectivity is the bias. As journalists try to scrub their stories clean of prejudice, the only remaining opinions come from their sources.
     C. Illustration
There is also the bias by omission which is not so dismissive of journalistic responsibility. Bias by omission involves ignoring facts that can disprove a claim and cloud the truth. That in itself is suppressing evidence, how angry would you be if a criminal got away with a horrible crime because the police hid evidence that would have led to his capture?  And it is an appeal to our ignorance, the media is saying, well, if you can not disprove this story then it must be true. Where is the responsibility to the truth? A good example of this is the story about U.S. guards at Guantanamo bay flushing the Koran down the toilet. Not a torture case but it sparked human rights questions. There was a source for that story, a top investigative reporter but was he biased? Also the evidence later surfaced that the Koran incident was a lie and that outright desecration of the Koran had occurred numerous times by the inmates themselves.
     D. Signpost Statement
The reasons that stories become twisted into rhetoric in the media can strangely parallel with the reasons the stories become altered on Capitol Hill.
     D. Documentation
The July 12th, 2004 issue of The Nation states that political officials use deceptive claims and innuendo that can not easily be disproved. They make sure that they create enough wiggle room that they can pretend that they never meant to imply what they clearly meant to imply.
     E. Illustration
It's the political game. Not always are the intentions outright vindictive from the core, sometimes words just come out wrong. The causes for rhetoric sprouting from political mouths comes in two forms, either what they say is misconstrued or some political agenda to further their affiliated party, or themselves is involved.  Senator Dick Durbin said on the senate floor that America had no concern for human beings in reference to Al Qaeda detainees. Later when he apologized he read a carefully worded statement acknowledging he used a poor choice of words and that he regretted any misunderstanding his comments had caused. It appears that his comments were indeed misconstrued but some remain skeptical that his political antiwar motives led to the statement.
     F. Signpost Statement
Our own media and government can send mixed messages and cloud the truth, but a major contributing factor to that is the very definition of human rights is confusing when it comes to terrorist detainees.
     G. Documentation: Cause Three
The February 4th, 2004 issue of Time magazine clearly states that Al Qaeda and Taliban fighters flunk the requirements for status as Geneva POW's. Lawful combatants must: have a commander responsible for their conduct, wear a uniform or visible insignia, carry their weapons openly and generally conduct their operations in accordance wit the laws and customs of war.
     H. Illustration
It is vital to forbid a soldier from mimicking a civilian, but that is exactly what al Qaeda does. Terror organizations are not covered at all in the Geneva conventions, and even the Taliban was not a regular army nor did they occupy the Afghan seat at the U.N. Our constitution does not protect our captured enemies. Many stipulate that all these reasons still do not make it acceptable for America, who must uphold the moral high ground, to torture our captives. That is where the real confusion comes in because none of the alleged incidents, even the Abu Ghraib scandal involved anything that could be considered torture. Some other human rights may have been violated by the misconduct of soldiers taking it upon themselves but none of it was sanctioned by the military or America. Whether these terrorist should be considered prisoners or outlaws, in no way has any link been proven that it has been official U.S. policy, or military policy to deal with detainees in any manner other than that consistent with high ethical standards. Nevertheless everyday you will hear and see prisoner torture rhetoric at every angle, and rhetoric claiming that human rights of terrorists have been violated purposefully by America. That can be seen as a reflection of all Americans, and I hardly think anyone I know would consider themselves upholders of torturous war crimes.
     J. Summary Statement
The information coming in and going out from the front lines of this conflict can be manipulated, misconstrued and simply confusing enough to create a rhetoric that has massive potential to do harm to all parties involved.
     K. Transition Statement
Now that we have explored the problems and causes of this rhetoric lets take a look at some of the things we can do to help make a difference on this subject.
IV. Main Point Three: Solution
     A. Subject Statement
The current state of reports and information on how America is violating human rights in its war on terror cannot be completely stopped but everyone can do their own part in seeing that honesty and truth infiltrate their way into this web of confusion and deceit.
     B. Documentation
According to the book How to identify, expose, and correct liberal media bias by Brent H. Baker you are given a detailed explanation on how to identify the eight types of media bias complete with real life examples of each; step-by-step instructions on how to analyze news stories and conduct studies proving media bias.
     C. Illustration
Arming ourselves with the tools to see through some of the bias and some of the bewilderment will help everyone make more informed decisions instead of simply taking everything that they see and hear at face value. Blogging your reactions online is very helpful in getting the message out that a lot of these torture and human rights claims are just that, claims and nothing more. Mediareaserch.org is an excellent website to exchange ideas about the media. You will get feed back from others with good viewpoints, some that will oppose your view even, but that's what it's about, the objective truth.
     D. Signpost Statement
While seeking truth and accuracy in the media is a way to help, recognizing problems in our political system is another way to become closer to the reality of the situation.
     E. Documentation
The spinsanity.org website last updated January 19th, 2005 believes that an engaged citizenry, active press and strong network of fact checking websites and blogs can help turn the tide of deception that we now see.
     F. Illustration
Reading up on the political spin on issues specifically involving the military in the war on terror is paramount to clearing the fog that now looms over our methods of detaining captive terrorists. The spin sanity website cited earlier is an amazing hub of information that counters rhetoric with reason. Hosts of topics, columns and case studies show the facts in the most objective and unbiased way possible. You can join their email list, donate money and learn all about how politics can create a rhetoric that we can all sift through and that together we can stop the spin.
     G. Signpost Statement
Raising your own awareness while sharing and spreading education about the truth is very important but above all we must make a difference through the federal government and the law.
     H. Documentation
A July 23rd, 2005 article of the Washington Post reveals that Senator John McCain plans to introduce new legislation on prisoner abuse next week. One McCain amendment would set uniform standards for interrogating anyone detained by the defense department.
     H. Illustration
We all need to become more involved in our government today, but this issue is on the forefront of Americas own character. Letting your congressmen know how you feel is important. Participate in polls available on all the major news websites and many .org and .gov websites. Senator McCain sits on the House Armed Services Committee along with other senators backing this new bill being brought forth this week. It will be in the news but remember to engage the full facts. Let the committee know how you feel and what your viewpoints are at their website www.house.gov/hasc/ or by phone at (202) 225-4151.
     J. Summary Statement
As you can see through education, awareness and simply becoming involved in even the smallest way can help bring more truth to light.
V. Conclusion
     A. Summary Statement
Rhetoric is around us every day and comes in many forms but rarely is it as serious as when it affects us all, clouds the truth and spreads dissent as it can in this instance.
     B. Post Point Preview
Today we have looked at the problems, causes and solutions to the rhetoric that exists about America and human rights violations in the international war on terror.
     C. Significance of Subject
The seemingly overwhelming coverage and general outward appearance that America engages in torture and voluntarily breaks human rights laws is damaging in many ways to the message we are trying to send the world. It is not an accurate measure of what this great country is about. It puts us all at a greater risk as the world continually receives the impression that we are capable of war crimes instead of spreading freedom and helping people.
     D. Wraparound
Remember back to that time when you were accused falsely of that terrible deed when you were only trying to help. That is happening again to you today. It is happening to us all, because we all represent this democracy that is of and by the people. Rhetoric is turning our hard work into nothing more than a horrendous crime against humanity. It is up to all of us to seek out and demand the truth.

by Shakell (shaun_kelley85@yahoo.com) on Thu Sep 14th, 2006 at 06:53:36 PM EDT
[ Parent ]

But your point on social security is very cute and amusing.... Got anymore? I would LOVE to hear them.
Let Freedom Ring! Let the White dove sing! Let the whole world know that today is a day of reckoning.
by Vivi on Fri Sep 15th, 2006 at 12:23:10 PM EDT morgaineswell.com
[ Parent ]