America had been shaken to the core. Having undertaken their part in many wars, including both World Wars, America had never been attacked or suffered civilian casualties and so the attack on 9/11 was a tremendous shock to the nation.
This triggered a no holds barred response in which any sense of democratic accountability was smothered under a blanket of Executive zeal which took its impetus from a President who seemed more at home in a Western than the dignified post of President.
War is a dirty game.
The Germans with the Gestapo, the Russians with their KGB, the Japanese and many other countries have had a hand in torture and used it as a plank in their interrogation methods.
Much of the torture was actually undertaken in countries that lay outside the US. Egypt and Libya were but two of countries that undertook the horrific action of Water Boarding and other disgusting methods to get them to confess.
These countries, mainly in the Middle East have no qualms about human rights.
As an example last year Egypt committed 188 people to death in one court decision ! Can you believe it. As far as I can see there was little coverage in the worlds media. I wonder why ?
Obviously there is more than one standard in the world and we should keep this in mind when we criticise the USA.
We are all tempted at times to seek "other methods" in dealing with people we think are our enemies and are out to harm to us.
The "Dirty Harry" moves are a fictional example, where our hero moves out from under the stifling limitation of the law to kill those criminals that have themselves killed.
"An eye for an eye" has biblical connotations and in the dirty world of espionage I'm sure it's a question of kill or be killed.
Of course the United Nations has outlawed torture and supposedly, being "united", even the nations who would condone what the Charter upholds must be troubled knowing that in their own country, far away from the measured tranquillity of the General Assembly are practising the worst.
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