Is America now the “evil empire”? Hardly.

The Obama administration takes another stab at George W. Bush, and our national security bleeds for it.

by Michael Naragon

On April 10, 1942, a large contingent of American and Filipino soldiers surrended to the Japanese, ending the battle for the Philippines.  Their general had vowed to return, but his men were unable to make such dramatic promises.  The Japanese ordered the nearly 75,000 prisoners to march from Mariveles to Camp O’Donnell sixty miles away.

Along the way, the prisoners were forced to endure various forms of physical and psychological torture.  Survivors recall that those who stopped for any reason were immediately bayoneted.  At several points along the way, the soldiers were forced to endure the hot conditions as the Japanese forced them to sit in the sun without helmets.  Those who dared ask for water were executed.

Of the 75,000 who left for Camp O’Donnell, only 54,000 reached their destination.  More died in the brutal conditions in the camp.

Nearly 30 years later, the North Vietnamese made their attempt to rival the Japanese in terms of brutality.  On August 26, 1967, Major George Day’s F-100 was shot down over the North, and he was captured.  For two days, he was hung upside down with ropes and beaten severely.

Day managed a miraculous escape and came within two miles of freedom when he was recaptured by the Viet Cong and returned to a prison camp.  Although he had been shot twice during his second capture, Day was refused medical treatment, and his wounds became infected.  Maj. Day spent over five years in North Vietnamese prisons and was continually beaten and tortured.

Many of the prisoners in Vietnamese camps were not asked for information.  Their captors simply wanted them to make disparaging remarks about the United States that could later be used for propaganda.

Fast-forward to 2009.  The Obama administration, likely under pressure from leftist groups such as MoveOn.org, has released memos from the previous administration describing our “torture” of captured enemy combatants.  The media, as expected, has gleefully pounced on the possibility that George W. Bush and his staff could be prosecuted for their actions.

Two questions are left, as yet, unanswered by Obama and his staff, however.  First, were the CIA’s actions torture?  Also, what are the long-term implications of this play for short-term political gains?

Torture?

According to published reports, members of al-Qaida captured by the United States were subjected to waterboarding on numerous occasions from 2002 to 2005.  In a story by the AP released late Wednesday, then-National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice authorized the waterboarding of al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah, who underwent the process over 80 times.

The media has commonly referred to the process as torture.  The information obtained from the waterboarding of Khalid Sheik Mohammed was called by The Los Angeles Times “Exhibit A in the case for torture.”

In the memos distributed by the Obama administration, al-Qaida operatives reportedly underwent other interrogation techniques such as sleep deprivation and psychological abuse.

Is it torture?  The word is rife with connotation, but in terms of world history, the “torture” undergone by the terrorists was minimal.  There were no fingernails removed, no roping, no broken bones.  Each of the CIA and military operatives who performed the interrogations had undergone SERE training, a military program which taught students to Survive, Evade, Resist, and Escape.

As part of their training, each of the men underwent waterboarding, isolation in a “hot box,” and other interrogation techniques to prepare them for potential capture situations.  A comparison can be made to police officers being made to sustain a taser before using one in the line of duty.

Did the military then “torture” its own men?  The agents who performed these interrogations knew the limits of the men they questioned, and the prisoners sustained no permanent injury.

And, unlike the torture endured by prisoners of war in Japanese and Vietnamese prison camps or the terrors brought upon prisoners of al-Qaida, the interrogations of the CIA had purpose.  A Justice Department report classified in 2005 described that Mohammed, the mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, gave up several key items of information during the interrogation process.

One of these pieces of information involved a plot by terrorists in the United States to carry out a Sept. 11-style attack on buildings in Los Angeles.  Are the thousands who may have been saved by the “torture” willing to step forward and condemn it?  Would their families be willing to do so?

Implications?

The Obama administration obviously released the “torture” memos for political gain.  As of Wednesday, administration officials had not qualitatively denied this.  But what will Obama’s attack on the previous administration cost the United States?

Nations and groups who hate the United States now have ammunition for various attacks against America.  Obama’s tour of the world, in which he gave a fist-bump to Communist dictator Hugo Chavez and listened to Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega berate the United States, has continued a pattern of weakness shown by the administration.

Our enemies, and potential enemies, are beginning to see that our leadership is less interested in protection and defense than they are in apology and embarassment over previous administration policies.  In a world climate unlike any seen in history, where small unstable dictatorships such as Iran and North Korea can possess nuclear weapons and potentially blackmail the world, the president seems to be bent on a mission to make the United States seem as harmless as possible.

This weakness, whether perceived or real, combines poorly with the fact the the U.S. military is being weakened from within.  Budget cuts of major programs such as the F-22 and outsourcing of materials for programs like the F-35 could have dire consequences for the future.  In fact, in a report released Tuesday by The Wall Street Journal, information on the F-35 was hacked by foreign intruders, compromising the security of the entire weapons system.

Could our enemies use the “torture” memos to prosecute the United States for war crimes?  With the current state of the global society, it seems possible.  Other nations, jealous of U.S. prosperity, would like nothing better than to embarass or, better yet, force our nation to pay reparations to affected countries.

As our president continues to search for those needing heartfelt apologies for a nation he apparently does not endorse, who will fill the role of superpower that we seem determined to reject?  More importantly, can our national ship be turned aright before irreparable damage is done?