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| Photo Stephen Crowley, NYT. Words F LoBuono |
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/10/opinion/the-senate-report-on-the-cias-torture-and-lies.html?smid=fb-share&_r=0
The report, to me, is simply heartbreaking. Read it and weep. Literally.
I've tried to put myself in the shoes of those, like then-CIA Director George Tenet. I realize that they were under enormous pressure to get information. We were attacked. People died. Many more could. They became desperate. Still, with all that said, they let darkness rule the day. They committed every heinous act that we castigate our "godless" enemies for doing! And, ultimately, they knew that these techniques, no matter how you twist the lexicon to sanitize them, were ineffective. Research has shown that. The report concludes the same. And many innocent people were brutalized, as well. It is contrary to everything we are supposed to stand for as a Nation, united.
My father was a combat veteran of WWII. He was always real about his service. He was very proud and often said it was the best time of his life. However, he also never hid the horrors of war and often said to me, "Frankie, in war, no one wears a white hat". I understand man's heart of darkness. When it comes to the brutality of war, there are no "rules". But, if we allow ourselves to yield to that mind set, there can be, in the end, no victory - only death and degradation - in an endless cycle of violence. It will never end because IT IS INEFFECTIVE.
I could quote the dozens of profound statements from Gandhi, MLK, the Buddha, the Christ, etc. -you've seen them all. However, if we don't LIVE them, they are meaningless.
I fear the devil has been unleashed and, if we don't change now to confront him, he will rule the day.
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