It is being reported that the television show ’24’ is ending. Good riddance. If you don’t know about the show, it featured a character named Jack Bauer, who, when faced with “ticking time bomb” scenarios wasn’t afraid to use a little torture to get the plot and save the day.
But, what was ’24’ ACTUALLY used for, and, what was the result of it?
It should be pointed out that the show ’24’ was produced by FOX, the same media company that defended the use of torture by the Bush administration. It debuted in November 2001. We, the public, found out much later that the Bush administration had implemented torture and waterboarding around the SAME TIME as ’24’ debuted.
This wasn’t mere coincidence, in my opinion, but, a coordinated effort between the Bush administration and its media propaganda arm to push the idea of torture being used to save America. The effect of this is obvious; when it came out the administration was using torture, suddenly, Jack Bauer became the argument FOR torture.
Every right-wing pundit was pointing to Jack Bauer. Every neo-con was pointing to Jack Bauer. Supreme Court Justice Scalia pointed to Jack Bauer. It was a coordinated defense; “but, look at Jack Bauer.”
The Bush administration is over, and. so is ’24’. Coincidence? I think not. It served its purpose. It took the idea that torture was inhuman, illegal, and gave it a defense based on, and in, fiction.
There are no “ticking time bomb” scenarios. I’ve shown exactly WHY the “ticking time bomb” scenario is nothing more than fearmongering.
’24’ may be over, having served its purpose, but, torture lives on.
President Obama claims that he ended the torture regime, but, that is not true. His administration has taken the very same approach that the Bush administration used despite his campaigning against those tactics. He is withdrawing his support for civilian trials. He is pushing for “pre-emptive” detention. He is using indefinite detention without charge or trial. Guantanamo prison isn’t closed, and, Bagram AB, among others, have become the new Guantanamo.
While we may not be waterboarding suspected terrorists, we are still using techniques such as sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, extreme heat and cold, extreme sound inundation – all techniques used by dictators to assault a persons senses, mind, and body until they simply break down.
That is what torture is – assault the person in various ways until they simply break.
That is WHY we have a SERE program – to teach our soldiers a fraction of what they will be subjected to, and, maybe, how to deal with it. Does that mean we torture our own soldiers in SERE training? Yes. But, it is a fraction of what they would receive if captured. It is closely monitored. It is training, and as such, the cadre know when slow down, or even stop, for the sake of the soldier’s mental and physical health.
The fiction may be over, but, the reality lives on…
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