We executed Japanese soldiers for Waterboarding?!!

[Fireweed247]

On November 29, 2007, Sen. McCain, while campaigning in St. Petersburg, Florida, said, "Following World War II war crime trials were convened. The Japanese were tried and convicted and hung for war crimes committed against American POWs. Among those charges for which they were convicted was waterboarding."

Sen. McCain was right and the National Review Online is wrong. Politifact, the St. Petersburg Times' truth-testing project (which this week was awarded a Pulitzer Prize), scrutinized Sen. McCain's statement and found it to be true. Here's the money quote from Politifact:

"McCain is referencing the Tokyo Trials, officially known as the International Military Tribunal for the Far East. After World War II, an international coalition convened to prosecute Japanese soldiers charged with torture. At the top of the list of techniques was water-based interrogation, known variously then as 'water cure,' 'water torture' and 'waterboarding,' according to the charging documents. It simulates drowning." Politifact went on to report, "A number of the Japanese soldiers convicted by American judges were hanged, while others received lengthy prison sentences or time in labor camps."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-begala/yes-inational-reviewi-we_b_191153.html

[Horse with no Name]

1. But YOU don't understanddddddddddddddddddddd

The American Way


Can you believe, the Hypocrisy
They're selling me, so I'll believe

Our nations tragedy, to be free
That's what they're telling me, yet no integrity

Do as they say, not as they do
It's not alright for you

Why are they, leading us astray
Guess it's their American way

We've heard it all before, the knock on the door
Its time we evened the score

I can't stand your misery, your philosophy
That you keep selling me

America is in jeopardy, why can't we really see
Revealing the mystery

Corporations, yes they hold the key, to their Democracy
No freedom really isn't free

They buy their way into our destiny, plant their seed
Fueling the fires of their greed

We need to run away, pray for a better day
Yes change our freedom, and the American way

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

2. we never got around to hanging them, but we also tried mercenaries

Because the Japanese had a shortage of english speaking soldiers they recruited english speaking "civilian contractors" from the Philippians, many of whom committed war crimes. They were used extensively to guard POW's.

Several were sentanced to death, but turned over to the Philippians to be tried again as collaborators and fell through the cracks. One of them was found living and unapologetic in Singapore in the early 1990's.

[dipsydoodle]

3. Nice to know

of a confirmed precedent for when these criminals are brought to trial.

[bobburgster]

4. Just heard that last night.

I'm surprised there has not been more publicity about it. Seems to me all those conservative hard cores might pause a second, from calling us pansies, if they heard about the Tokyo Trials and waterboarding.

Then again...who am I kidding.

[pacalo]

10. Pansy = A chickenhawk who never served, but takes lightly sending others to war

& deferring them 2-3 times past their share of deployment.

I could care less that the idiots who supported that ne'er-do-well call us "pansies". What have they gotten right? :eyes:

Welcome to DU, bobburgster!

[bobburgster]

18. Thanks fir the welcome pacalo.....

and do I ever agree with your statement.
I do think greater publicity might help move some people back into reality based thinking. There is no logic to their arguments that waterboarding is ok when they know history.

[Fireweed247]

13. This really should be a huge story

But all everyone is talking about is the Swine Flu....so many stories with no time to cover, torture, raids continuing in Iraq, Harman and AIPAC making deals, Gonzalez blackmailing Harman to get support for illegal wiretapping...

[Doremus]

5. Repukes have a talking point about that.

I was having a conversation with a repuke the other day and he was denying waterboarding is torture. I told him we hung Japanese torturers for waterboarding our soldiers during WW2.

He came back instantly that they weren't hanged for waterboarding, that they were prosecuted for far worse things than that like bamboo under the fingernails, electrocution, etc.

Of course he's wrong about waterboarding but my point is they've already come up with a response for it which means they know it's true and manufactured a talking point to feed the sheep.

[Gidney N Cloyd]

6. I've had a hard time finding confirmation on that.

Everything I've come across seems to indicate that those Japanese who were executed each had a long list of crimes, waterboarding among them.

Has anyone had more luck than me confirming executions specifically for waterboarding?

[Iggo]

9. And there it is.

[Fireweed247]

11. well, it was on the list for a reason

n/t

[ejpoeta]

7. that was different!! that was them. this is US.

[Fireweed247]

8. we're the good guys!

:yoiks:

[AllentownJake]

12. We also had a water boarding scandal in 1902

We did it to the Spanish and Phillipinos during the Spanish American war in 1898.

Teddy Roosevelt swept it under the rug as well, because it was a distraction and moderate torture.

I wish I was making that up.

[Hippo_Tron]

14. The rules are different for the victors than for the losers

And it has pretty much been that way since the beginning of time.

[Fireweed247]

15. and luckily the victors write the history books

'oh that's a different kind of waterboarding'

[nadinbrzezinski]

16. Yes, yes we did

hell in 1997 we sent a couple LEOs to jail for that

Oh and it happened in texas and then Guv'nor bush didn't pardon them either

[Fireweed247]

17. kick

:kick: