EYKIW: THE LOW ROAD TO ABBOTTABAD
Tue, 03 May 2011 14:47:27
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I doubt we'll ever know if water boarding played a part in Bin Laden's assassination, unless the CIA and the DOD want to come clean on their use of the darker arts. If, as reported, the clues that led to the compound in Abbottabad came from Guantanamo interrogations, then the more calloused among us will grasp on our success as a rationale for continuing to torture America's prisoners. I grew up on WW II films in which only wicked Japanese officers and Gestapo sadists did such terrible things.
Haven't we learned anything from Abu Ghraib? The charming photos of Muslims being tortured and sexually assaulted sabotaged our efforts to stabilize Iraq. If it's revealed that we water boarded our way to Bin Laden, we will be giving substance to Al Qaida's caricature of us as ruthless, Christian crusaders. The low road may have taken us to Abbottabad, but I shudder to think where that perilous path will lead us in the future.