Why the pro-torture talking point "You only have minutes before a nuke goes off" is stupid

[ck4829]

Does anyone really think that the Bush Administration would be able to deal with ANY contingency in the course of a couple minutes.

Here is the panic button check list for the Bush Administration:
Get Cheney to undisclosed location
Get guys to find some way to pin it on Democrats
Set up a photo op in advance for Bush after the event occurs
Make up something to tie it to Saddam and 9/11

If a "You have only minutes before X" scenario occurs and Bush is in office, you might as well duck for cover.

[BridgeTheGap]

1. Only those who watch "24" would buy into that crap

Whatever happened to analyzing situations to find root causes?

[KittyWampus]

2. Sorry, but the stupidity lies in the notion that waterboarding has EVER yielded actionable intel

EVER.

And the Bush's claim that they got info out of whatever-his-name is beyond merely suspect. It's a freaking lie.

Anyone who claims to have gotten actionable or accurate intel from torture is most probably a damned liar.

People watch too much tv.

[Atman]

6. Tell it to Joe Scab

He's a major backer of waterboarding, and is absolutely certain that Kalid Sheik Yerbooty, or whatever his name was, spilled the beans about all sorts of terra attacks after a few minutes on the board, so it's proof it works.

I'm reminded -- once again -- of Gary Kasparov on Bill Maher's show when Maher mention Vlad Putin's high approval ratings. He laughed and said "How do you know?" Exactly. How does Scab know? Because the WH issued a press release? How come Republicans will believe ANY press release the WH issues, but won't bother reading our own Constitution?

.

[zbdent]

13. Maybe he should be waterboarded

to find out what he was doing when the woman died in his office due to a head blow ...

[eleny]

3. Besides....

They haven't used it for that purpose yet from what I hear about the issue. So far, it's been a moot point.

[OwnedByFerrets]

4. Straight from "24"....its been said lately,

that even many of the cadets at West Pointe believe this shit.

[Atman]

5. If you only had minutes until the nuke goes of, why not just take the pain?

You've been earcupped, sleep deprived, fingernails ripped out, waterboarded, and there is only two minutes to go until detonation time...so let 'em strap another electrode to your balls or show you pictures of Lynn Cheney naked...I'm sure you can stick it out for another 120 seconds until the detonation. Why wouldn't you? Why have your balls electroded for nothing? Might as well at least lie, so you get the pain to stop, and then BOOM. Mission accomplished.

This whole "two minutes till nuke" argument is the most ridiculous argument I've ever heard. Besides, if you've already got the intel pointing to time of a detonation, wouldn't it stand to reason that you also might know what and where? I mean, since we're talking absurd hypotheticals anyway.

Sometimes I wonder who is more stupid, the Republicans who believe this shit, or the Americans who are willing to give up on the Constitution over it.

.

[guitar man]

8. you're evil

I think I could take the waterboarding and fingernails ripped out, but Lynne Cheney, naked....please..god...no....I'LL TALK!! :scared:

[MiniMe]

10. or lie. By the time they figure out you lied, you will be dead

[Rex]

7. Since torture is an unreliable form of extracting information

you can be guaranteed one of three things - the fella doesn't know shit and will get you killed guessing to make you quit. Boom. The fella knows and tells you everything except he can't get it right because he has brain damage from drowning and staying dead too long. Boom. The fella knows, but would rather die and take you with him (to be fair, you are causing a lot of pain and anger). Result? Boom.

[The Stranger]

9. Alan Dershowitz pulls that one out of his ass every time now.

"The world is going to blow up and everyone is going to die! But you can torture this little brown man to death and save the world!"

[Cerridwen]

11. Er, how many months of warning did they have before 9/11?

They couldn't/didn't stop that. Hell, * was so busy with a photo op he couldn't tear himself away from, we were "under attack" for 30 minutes(?) before he responded to that.

Cripes. Do they even read their own lies?

[Bitwit1234]

12. OK I am not a scientist or engineer but how would this work.

bush and gang have protected us from terrorists...they knock them darn old terrorist down..1 - 2 - 3...to get a nuclear bomb and or the fixings to this country you have to get thru some form of security...right...well now how can a terrorist can everything here, put it together and set it off.

Now also how many times have we heard from Homeland Security.....the terrorist groups are self contained. They plan and initiate within the group. So we find a guy or girl who they say is a terrorist. And right away they go into torture to find out where the bombs are....my group doesn't know where your groups is...how can we tell you anything.