A column by Mike Myer, executive editor of The Intelligencer / Wheeling News-Register
WHEELING, W.Va. — What if you were reasonably certain that by inflicting some pain, physical and psychological, on certain people you could keep children from being murdered? You would not injure anyone permanently.
Would you do it? Many Americans would not. They consider that attitude a sign of moral superiority.
If you are among them, think about this: There is a distinct possibility that feeling of uprightness will be paid for in the blood of little boys and girls.
During the past week or so, lots of attention has been given to a Senate committee report on the use of torture by the?CIA.
But before that, a few terrorists who fell into U.S. hands were subjected to physical and psychological abuse. None of it resulted in permanent injuries. There were limits on how severe the abuse could be and how long it could go on.
CIA officials past and present say useful information was obtained through torture. That led to preventing some Islamic terrorist attacks and apprehending some terrorist leaders.
President Barack Obama ordered the CIA to stop using “enhanced interrogation techniques” in 2009.
During the past five or so years, how many Taliban, al-Qaida, Islamic State and other terrorist leaders have remained unharmed because the CIA was not able to get at them by torturing their cronies? How many attacks and military victories by the terrorists might have been prevented?
How many children have the terrorists shot, blown up or beheaded during that five-year period?
Hundreds, at least. Taliban gunmen massacred at least 130 Pakistani children during just one day last week. Islamic State murderers behead or shoot children regularly.
These are not the “collateral damage” that sometimes results from U.S. drone or missile strikes. The terrorists set out to slaughter children.
So back to the basic question of moral superiority. If one is reasonably certain he could save children’s lives but does not do so to spare murderers some temporary pain, where on the morality scale does he fall?
This is not a “hypothetical.” Killing children is Islamic terrorist policy, implemented regularly.
What about it, fellow Americans? How many innocent young lives is our moral superiority worth to us?
Myer can be reached at: [email protected].
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