Some brief thoughts on Faisal Shahzad, terrorism and torture.

I argue with a few friends sometimes about the practice of torture. They ask me why I don’t believe torture should be used to extract potentially life-saving information. My stance has been and remains that it reduces us as a people. Also, I believe people can be trained to mislead under torture. Someone’s testimony under torture is similar to religious text – the stories told are truth mixed with myth, leaving the interpreter to figure out what he believes, or wants to believe. I also believe that torture adds to the sense of martyrdom someone devoted to his cause feels. Consider Mel Gibson as William Wallace in Braveheart. No one who has seen the movie can forget his cry of “Freedom” as Wallace is eviscerated before the people. I believe many among the enemy we face anticipate torture. Torture affirms their belief that we are the great Satan. My belief that torture is wrong is based both in ethics and pragmatism.

I am struggling with that belief right now, because I would like to see Faisal Shahzad tortured. Not to obtain any information from him, but simply for the sake of punishing him for what he tried to do.

I ride my bike in New York sometimes with friends. Now it is not difficult for me to imagine one of our wonderful rides ending abruptly with a car exploding as we ride blissfully past. Maybe I would die in the explosion, or maybe my friends and wife, depending on who was where. I think about this often. Whether it be from misfired missiles by our own military or suicide bombers, I hate the thought of those who want no part of war getting pulled into it by the assholes who think murder is an acceptable way to solve a problem. If only combatants would fight combatants. Idealistic, I know, but one can hope.

I wish no harm on Shahzad’s wife and children, but I would like for him to fear for their safety so that he might understand what I fear. As for Shahzad himself, I would like for a dozen or so M80s to be taped to various parts of his body and detonated, so that he might get to feel a little taste of the pain he was willing to inflict on people who would have done him no wrong as long as he let them be. And then I would like for him to live the rest of his incarcerated in a place where he could contemplate his failure and hopefully some day be grateful for the fact his plan failed.

Worship whoever or whatever you want to, but as soon as you begin to justify asshole behavior based on your beliefs then I have no sympathy for you and I hope you reap what you sow.