Missouri League of the South

Torture and the Demise of Freedom

Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 November 2011 21:01 Written by Les Goss

Torture and the founding principles of American Liberty and Freedom are mutually exclusive. The concepts of Liberty and Freedom, whether they are related strictly to the American experience or not, are also repugnant to the concept of torture. Americans know, have always known, that torture is a threat to Liberty and Freedom. Therefore, we have ever and always guarded our precious Liberty and Freedom through a rule of law which excludes the concept of torture. That is.... until 9/11. The nefarious machinations of the George Bush II administration, in cahoots with a cowed Congress, and servile Federal courts after 9/11 turned upside down the historical and traditional American anathema toward torture. Since 9/11 there has emerged a new American Ethos as regards law and law enforcement and how they mesh with our ideas of Liberty and Freedom. This emerging ethos is not a product of an ideological awakening among the American people, en masse. Instead, it is an ethos which has been craftily, surreptitiously, and subtly wormed into our collective world view as a result of 9/11 and the psycho-politico subterfuge which spawned it. This subterfuge, birthed by the federal government, nurtured by its media myrmidons, and adopted by nearly every major national institution will result in the demise of our American Freedom.

The lie is thus: (1) since and because of 9/11, the threat of terror among us, within our national borders, is so great and so imminent that we must be given new tools to use in the war against it. (2) protecting the American people and our Freedom is the first priority in the war against terror. (3) the traditional methods of law enforcement are weak and ineffectual in aiding our cause of protecting our own Freedom. (4) the primary tool we must have in order to ferret out terror and terrorists before they strike is aggressive interrogation (torture).

The argument is logical. It seems reasoned and balanced. If we accept the scenario of a gross and immediate threat to our nation's Freedom from the ever-present danger of terror. The scenario is false, however. Terror, per se, does not threaten our Freedom. Americans can deal with terrorists and terror attacks. Terrorists will never topple our government, nullify our military, destroy our law enforcement function, eradicate our economy, wipe out our national institutions, make void our system of law or our courts, invalidate our Constitution, cripple our society, or vaporize our culture. Terrorists and the terror they might inflict upon Americans within our borders will never be able to do any of those things precisely because we are a free people! Freedom, growing up from Liberty, is the best and only tool (weapon) to gain victory over terrorists. The lie tries to convince us to the contrary, that unless we reduce our Freedom, unless we curtail our Liberty, then terrorists and terror will win the day. Hence, since 9/11, an evil federal government has given us the USA Patriots Acts, the Military Commissions Act, the Warner National Defense Act, the FISA Act, NorthCom, the Department of Homeland Security, the Transportation Safety Administration, 70+ fusion centers, all designed to reduce our Liberty and Freedom for the sake of "fighting" terror. The most obvious and simplest question we may and should ask is: "Where are the terrorists?" A second demand is: "Show us the terror!" A third is: "Reveal to us the indicted, arrested, tried and convicted terrorists who have fallen to us during this war on terror!" A fourth is: "List for us the terror-plots that have been thwarted as a result of the limitless power given to the government through these various and sundry freedom-stealing acts and organizations." There can be no answer to these demands because there is no substance to the manufactured threat of terror and terrorists.

Are there no terrorists? Yes, they exist. Might they commit acts of terror? Yes, they may. Is the threat so great as to justify and warrant the piece-meal destruction of our Constitution, the Bill of Rights, and our Freedoms guaranteed thereby? Absolutely not! It..this war on terror...is a grand farce, an unmitigated fraud, an absolute deception of smoke and mirrors! Underlying and supporting the several Freedom-stealing Acts passed by an effete Congress since 9/11 is the insidious concept of torture. Why is this so? Because accepting the principle of torture will ultimately nullify the concepts of Liberty and Freedom upon which our society, our culture, and our nation rests. Torture trumps every Freedom we have, many of them enshrined in the Constitution. Torture, the acceptance of its use, the acknowledgment of its viability and utility, the implementation of its principles underlies every so-called act passed by Congress in order to "fight" terrorism. The USA Patriot Acts accept the concepts of torture ... under certain conditions. The Military Commissions Act accepts the concepts of torture ... under certain conditions. Provisions of these acts have been and are now being interpreted in secret by those whose job it is to enforce them. Even members of Congress charged with the oversight of the implementation of these acts are prevented from reviewing the secret interpretations of certain provisions! Who, then, decides what is ... "under certain conditions”...? Are these decisions made in secret, without Congressional oversight, without court approval, without the application of the Bill of Rights?

THE RULE OF LAW

Americans, until 9/11, enjoyed the rule of law. The rule of law is based upon several assumptions regarding good and evil, crime and punishment. The first assumption is that human government is instituted to punish evil and reward good. Another is that one accused of a crime (doing evil) is considered innocent until proven guilty. The "proof' of finding one guilty (doing evil) is based upon evidence. Evidence is discovered, often because of a thing called "reasonable suspicion". Reasonable Suspicion, because of and under the rule of law, is pursued in order to infer possible guilt of the wrong doing, or to exonerate the one suspected of wrong doing. If and when enough evidence is amassed to indicate guilt, then a condition of "probable cause" is established. Probable Cause is the legal requirement for issuing a warrant, for securing the arrest of the suspected wrong­doer, based upon the collection of evidence through the use of investigation due to reasonable suspicion. What follows is indictment by a court, or grand jury, in order to arrest, arraign and charge the individual with the wrong-doing (the evil), so that the government may carry out its God-given mandate of punishing evil. Next, the suspected wrong-doer is given a trial in open court, before a jury of his peers, who determine his guilt or innocence based upon the evidence presented by the government and the laws pertinent to the charge. This is a synopsis of the rule of law regarding crime and punishment. It is our American tradition, growing out of English Common Law, and Biblical Law. It represents over 200 years' of the American experience ... all devoid of and anathema to the concept and principles of torture.

TORTURE AND THE RULE OF LAW

Without law, societies degenerate into chaos. Law establishes and upholds order. God is a God of order. God ordains human government to uphold order, reward good, punish evil, and prevent chaos among men. God's Law is the basis for human law. Therefore, human law is a moral law ... because; God and His Law are moral. The concepts of what is right and what is good are foundational to the establishment of law among men.

No law, resulting in chaos, is evil. It is wrong. Why? Because it makes no difference between good and evil. Chaos allows the presence of evil. It allows the triumph of wrong over right, evil over good. Chaos among men is rebellion against God. A human government which permits chaos is in rebellion against God. Chaos, you recall, is the absence of law. Law is merely a set of rules. If there are no rules, then there is no law, and chaos will reign. When chaos reigns Liberty and Freedom are at grave risk. Only law, based upon God's plan for human government, will uphold Liberty and Freedom.

We have seen that America, the United States, is a nation of laws. The basic law is the Constitution. The Constitution establishes law, it upholds what is right through the law it establishes. The understanding of this truth is the reason that the U. S. Supreme Court exists. The primary function of the U.S. Supreme court is to uphold the law ... the Constitution. The Supreme Court determines the "Constitutionality" of any law. It must prove that any law (federal or state) is in accord with the supreme law (the Constitution) in order for that law to be upheld. The Constitution is sacrosanct. Regarding law in the United States, the Constitution is the only law which is "untouchable", except by and through the process of Amendment. The Bill of Rights, for example, upholds what is right, and it mitigates against evil. It, being part of the Constitution, is as untouchable as the rest of the Supreme Law. But, what if the law, even the Supreme Law, is "touched"? What if the law is attacked, damaged, perverted, even destroyed? What then? Chaos becomes rampant, and Liberty and Freedom disappear. It seems important, then, to protect the law ... to uphold it..to preserve it. Hence, a thing called the Oath of Office is administered to every government employee. And what singular thing does the Oath stipulate? It demands that the oath taker uphold, protect, and preserve the law, the U. S. Constitution. Why? Because without law, chaos reigns, and Liberty and Freedom disappear. It is important, then, to ensure that the law remains "untouchable".

Since 9/11, the law, the Supreme Law, the U.S. Constitution has been "touched". It has been attacked by laws passed by Congress which are contrary. It has been nullified by these contrary laws, not because they are good and it is bad. Not because the Constitution is outdated, antiquated, or evil... but, because those who are charged with the duty to uphold, protect, and preserve the Constitution have disregarded their oath. They have ignored their oath, ignored the Supreme Law, and have given their allegiance over to these other contrary laws. They have done this in direct violation of their oath, and of the Supreme Law. They are traitors to the law, having chosen to ignore it, and to replace it with contrary law in blatant disregard for the true and right law. They have done this in many ways. But, we will investigate just one of the ways they have committed this evil and traitorous deed in order to establish the case against torture.

The definition of torture in the context of this article is, according to Noah Webster: "Severe pain inflicted judicially, either as a punishment for a crime, or for the purpose of extorting a confession from an accused person." (Webster, 1828) (This definition, however, is not entirely accurate as it pertains to the use, motivation, or justification for the torture permitted by the contrary laws we noted above.) Under provisions of acts passed by Congress since 9/11, whether openly or secretly interpreted by those who enforce these laws, torture is permitted and used to cause severe pain, extract confessions, and to murder. It has been documented as being used in foreign countries by American military/intelligence/mercenary personnel, such as the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. It has been documented as being used in the US. Military base prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It has been alleged to being used by US. Military/intelligence personnel in several places around the world, against foreign nationals and even against American citizens, most of whom are of foreign extraction.

The contrary laws under which torture is allowed nullify the rule of law, the rule of the Supreme Law, the US Constitution. The 8th Amendment prohibits the infliction of “... cruel and unusual punishments ... ". Torture is cruel and unusual punishments. The 5th Amendment requires the     " ... presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury ... " in order that a person may be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime. The contrary laws passed by acts of Congress since 9/11 allow the holding of persons without the presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury. They even allow for the holding of individuals who have not been charged with such crime, or who may never be charged with such crime. They allow for the holding of these people in secret, forever, and to be subject to the use of torture upon their bodies.

The 6th Amendment demands that a person accused of a crime be allowed a “... speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury ... ", and that the accused" ... be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation ... ", and that he has the right to be" ... confronted with the witness against him ... ", that he be given the right to have, " ... witnesses in his favor ... ", and that he be given the, " ... assistance of counsel for his defense." The acts passed by Congress since 9/11, being contrary to the Supreme Law, allow each and all of these rights to be ignored and disregarded. As an individual is taken secretly and placed into prison without a charge, without a trial, without being allowed to confront any accuser, without being given the opportunity to call witnesses on his behalf, without the assistance of a lawyer ... and, subject to torture, we begin to see the reign of chaos. Chaos is the condition that results when there is no law. These acts of Congress have, in effect, eradicated the protections of the Supreme Law. .. Therefore, there is no law.

The 5th Amendment, again, demands that a person, “... shall not be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law ... ", The acts passed by Congress since 9/11 are contrary to the 5th Amendment. They allow for a man to be compelled to be a witness against himself through the application of torture. Torture compels. When a person is whisked away in secret, in accord with the provisions of the acts passed by Congress, then he is being deprived of liberty. If he dies under torture, then he has been deprived of his life without the due process of law. The law which should apply for his protection, being ignored and nullified, has therefore been violated ... it has been thwarted, treated as if it did not exist. In fact, then, chaos reigns. And, torture is at the root of this chaos.

The 4th Amendment requires that people are to be, “secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures ". That, “... no warrants shall issue but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or Affirmation... ". Since 9/11 Congress has passed laws contrary to the 4th Amendment. These laws provide for the search and seizure of private persons, houses, papers, and effects without warrant, without charge, and without affirmation to probable cause. They also provide no way of redress by the offended person. In fact, they provide for the arrest and incarceration of such individuals if they make known or make public what has been done to them.

When the rule of law is gone, then torture fills the gap. The rule of law means that the law rules. It means that the law is supreme, that all must obey it, and that all are accountable to it. Removing the rule of law nullifies all restraint. As regards government, when it no longer is required to obey and adhere to the rule of law, then chaos orchestrated by the government itself will result. That chaos is built upon, or upheld by the threat of, or the application of torture. The ultimate end of torture is death. Therefore, when a government resorts to torture as a means to advance its agenda or to enhance its controlling influence, it establishes the threat of death as its answer to all who will resist. The government of the United States, through the various acts passed by Congress since 9/11, has established that it will use torture as a means to advance its agenda. It has not excluded the use of torture against its own citizens.

The acknowledgment of the God-given rights listed in the Bill of Rights, is ignored and cast away by a government which has made laws contrary to the Bill of Rights and to the U. S. Constitution. The utilization of torture as the ultimate form of requiring acquiescence to government power, authority, and control effectively negates the Freedom of all Americans attested to by the U.S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Contrary to the lie, torture is not a means whereby we may protect our Freedom from terrorists. No, torture is a tool of terrorists. It is a tool used to remove Freedom, not to protect it.

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