It looks like President Trump is taking a note out of the George W. Bush Administration by advocating the use of torture techniques in order to combat terrorism. Why does he think the so-called “advanced interrogation” tactics will work this time? Even Defense Secretary pick General James Mattis has stated that he does not believe in using torture to get answers.
President Trump’s new executive order draft entitled, “Detention and Interrogation of Enemy Combatants” would lift bans on overseas CIA “black site” prisons used for torture. The places that Former President Barack Obama shut down. This would also reverse Obama’s directive to give the Red Cross access to detainees and expand the use of Guantanamo Bay, which should have been shut down years ago.
President Trump says he wants to “fight fire with fire,” which is somehow supposed to make America great again by stooping to the level of terrorists. There are also some legal conflicts that he doesn’t even mention; this executive order would violate both U.S. and international law. Does our president even know what the Geneva Convention is?
The Senate voted overwhelmingly to ban torture in 2015, but now we have a president that wants to take us back in time. The new CIA Director, Mike Pompeo, is seemingly cooperative to the president’s plan, stating that he wants to change the military policy for interrogation techniques so they can go beyond what is prescribed by the Army Field Guide.
Senator John McCain, a victim of torture during his service in the Vietnam War, is not taking any vile rhetoric from President Trump.
“The president can sign whatever executive orders he likes. But the law is the law. We are not bringing back torture in the United States of America,” he stated.
While the majority of Republicans fall in line to President Trump’s side, it’s good to know that at least one of them can stand up and fight against this horrendous executive order. Perhaps this measure will bring an end to President Trump after he learns that violent actions often have violent consequences.