Much attention has been devoted in the press to the debate between Cheney and Obama over the best way to protect our national security. Cheney believes Bush administration policies of cracking down on terrorism should be upheld. These include allowed interrogation techniques and detainment of terror suspects. Obama believes in a mixture of policies; he wants to ban torture and other harsh interrogation techniques and close the Guantanamo Bay terrorist detention center, while continuing the process of detaining terrorists indefinitely without trial.
On the issue of interrogation techniques, I think Cheney is in the right. The fact is we have not endured another attack on our mainland since September 11. Eliminating interrogation options could keep valuable information away from those who are charged with protecting us. I am not saying we should torture every suspect; just that we should be able to. I think some people are forgetting 9/11; I would rather torture a suspected terrorist than endure another terrorist attack.
I do not particularly care about Guantanamo Bay. If Obama wants to close it because of the negative symbol it creates, that is fine. Unlike both Obama and Cheney, I do not think we should detain terror suspects indefinitely. If we have a suspected terrorist, we should charge him, try him, and then imprison or release him. I do not see how it is beneficial to leave the suspect in limbo. Our government needs to finish this debate and iron out a process for handling these people.
Until we meet again, goodbye!
No comments:
Post a Comment