Commentary: Torture Damages U.S. Influence In World

"...after flogging Jesus, [Pilate] handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers ... clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

-- Mark 15:15b-20

The Romans were cruel and knew how to inflict pain. Flogging, or scourging, was a violent whipping with leather thongs knotted with small pieces of metal and a hook on the end in order to tear the skin and muscle of the victim. Many died from such floggings.

Roman soldiers also had an amusement called "The Game of Kings" where a subject would be kicked or beaten onto stones marked like a game board. Wherever the victim landed set the next punishment -- mocking, beating, crowning, spitting, flogging. The "king" often died. The game was so brutal the Roman army eventually banned it.

Crucifixion was an especially slow and painful death, intended to terrorize and discourage any witnesses. Executioners intended to inflict maximum pain while not actually killing the victim. It is likely that the conscription of Simon to carry Jesus' cross part of the way was to make sure Jesus would not die before actually being crucified.

It was all torture. Physical torture and mental-emotional torture calculated to break the mind, body and spirit of its victim. Jesus was a victim of state-sanctioned torture.

The Episcopal Church, like most other Christian denominations, has condemned the use of torture. We object to the practice of extraordinary rendition by the United States and any government, individual or organization.

In 1776, General George Washington watched through his telescope, witnessing the torture of surrendered American militiamen in British hands across the Hudson River. He could hear their screams. Washington subsequently ordered that all prisoners captured by his army be treated humanely. "Let them have no reason to Complain of our Copying the brutal example of the British army in their Treatment of our unfortunate brethren." Under President Washington, one of the first acts of Congress was the Alien Tort Statute of 1789 allowing foreigners to seek remedies in U.S. courts for human-rights violations.

Torture is un-Christian and un-American.

In 2013, Arkansas Gov.-elect Asa Hutchinson co-chaired a non-partisan independent review of the recent U.S. record of extraordinary rendition. That report said "it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture" and the report pointed to the nation's highest officials as the responsible parties.

"But I just think we learn from history," Hutchinson said. "It's incredibly important to have an accurate account not just of what happened but how decisions were made."

Hutchinson said he wasn't surprised by the U.S. Senate report released last month that comes to similar conclusions. Both studies concluded torture does not produce valuable intelligence.

That is also the opinion of my brother-in-law, who recently retired from the Pentagon as a Navy rear admiral. He tells me former interrogators say torture doesn't work. We have other, better ways of obtaining usable intelligence. He says even if torture did produce valuable intelligence, as a military officer he objects to it. Torture is a violation of the Constitution he has sworn to defend. It is a crime against humanity.

My brother-in-law spoke to me of the generation of senior officers who have just retired. They grew up hearing stories their fathers told of the torture of U.S. troops in World War II. They were the generation that experienced Vietnam. They served in the military to fight such evils. For the U.S. to engage in such atrocities makes us like them. We lose the moral ground we need in order to censure evil.

In Iraq my brother-in-law was deputy commander of nearly 9,000 sailors who were subject to capture. He said no commander would ever want any of his troops to be subjected to torture or war crimes under the justification, "well, the Americans do it." He says U.S.-led torture at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was an inspiration to our enemy, a recruitment coup, a motivation and justification for the enemy's continued extremism. It certainly led to mistreatment of American service personnel.

Torture is wrong and unjustifiable.

I agree with Gov.-elect Hutchinson. "The United States has a historic and unique character, and part of that character is that we do not torture."

LOWELL GRISHAM IS AN EPISCOPAL PRIEST WHO LIVES IN FAYETTEVILLE.

Commentary on 01/11/2015

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