quote for the morning

by E.D. Kain on May 1, 2009

Torture is an impermissible evil. Except under two circumstances. The first is the ticking time bomb. . . . The second exception to the no-torture rule is the extraction of information from a high-value enemy in possession of high-value information likely to save lives. . . .  ~ Charles Krauthammer

Impermissible!

I do not think that word means what you think it means….

Tagged as: torture

E.D. Kain is a blogger and freelance writer. Currently he serves as Editor-in-Chief of The League of Ordinary Gentlemen and writes a tech blog at Forbes. Visit his politics blog here. He can be found occasionally composing 140 character cultural analysis on Twitter. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, The National Review, The Washington Examiner, and the now-defunct True/Slant. You can also contact him via email.

{ 2 comments }

1 Lev May 1, 2009 at 11:21 am

My favorite are the wingnuts who will alternately valorize torture as well as insist it’s justified by the threats we face, an essentially utilitarian argument. Read my response to this approach from a typical wingnut at my blog.

Either it’s a positive good or a necessary evil. It can’t be both. I tend to think that it’s an absolute evil, but that’s just because I’m a left-wing relativist douchebag that doesn’t know the meaning of moral values.

2 Kyle Cupp May 1, 2009 at 1:41 pm

You mean you’ll put down your brazen bull, and I’ll put down my butcher knife, and we’ll try and torture each other like civilized people?

Actually, Krauthammer’s argument pretty much amounts to defending how we can torture like a civilized people.

Comments on this entry are closed.

{ 1 trackback }