I USA, ganske vist (I Danmark er jeg ikke sikker på, jeg har lyst til at kende svaret). Men alligevel. Glenn Greenwald:
One of the most common and most corrosive aspects of our political discourse is the endless assertions — based on nothing — about what “Americans believe.” It is exceedingly conventional wisdom that Americans generally view the world through the prism of Jack Bauer and therefore want our government to torture, want Guantanamo kept opened, and do not want suspected Terrorists to be tried in civilian courts inside the U.S. It is even more commonly asserted that Americans do not want, and even further, would never tolerate, criminal investigations into the various crimes of Bush officials.
A new Washington Post/ABC News poll released yesterday negates all of those beliefs. Here was the question that was asked about torture — note that it’s phrased in the most pro-torture manner possible, because it is grounded in the ludicrous, 24-clichéd “ticking time bomb” excuse that is the most commonly used argument by torture advocates:
Q. Obama has said that under his administration the United States will not use torture as part of the U.S. campaign against terrorism, no matter what the circumstance. Do you support this position not to use torture, or do you think there are cases in which the United States should consider torture against terrorism suspects?
By a wide margin — 58-40% — Americans say that torture should never be used, no matter the circumstances.
Altså: Et stort flertal af amerikanerne mener, at tortur ikke må og kan anvendes. Under. Nogen. Omstændigheder.
George W. Bush og hans slæng har altså ikke haft den opbakning til at tilsidesætte menneskerettighederne i Irak-krigen og “krigen mod terror”, som ellers ofte tages for givet.
Link: New poll on torture and investigations negates Beltway conventional wisdom
Tortur er det laveste man kan gøre.
Dertil vil jeg tilføje, at jeg anser fængsling under Guantanamo Bay lignende omstændigheder også som tortur, og ligeledes de forhold folk bydes i mange amerikanske fængsler, og i Europa hvor lignende forhold er ved at blive almindelige. Ikke mindst på grund af de mange fremmede i fængslerne der nu overgår rockerne i despotisme og voldelighed. Bare fordi en tortur foregår langstrakt og ikke intensivt ved hjælp af de sædvanlige redskaber, er det stadigvæk tortur. Derunder afspilning af høj musik, og søvnberøvelse, etc.
Nej jeg behøver ikke at nævne Iran, Tyrkiet, Afghanistan, Kina Nord-Korea osv. For de landes fornemmelser for menneskelig behandling af fanger er der vel ikke mange der har illusioner om.