Today, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released the executive summary of it’s report on the CIA’s “detention and interrogation” — i.e., torture — program. Over on our Patheos blog, I argued that
What is perhaps most terrifying about reading this report is the idea that after only a short period of time, all of the torture, deception, and secrecy was largely in service of more torture, deception, and secrecy. And as this spiral increased, the demands for an ever more craven and culpable distortion of moral and legal reasoning increased with it.
It all sounds insane, illogical — mad. Until we remember this: sin and violence has its own terrible internal logic.
There’s also no shortage of good commentary on the report:
- It’s worth being reminded that US Catholic bishops have long been on record against torture, and in favor of release of this report.
- The National Religious Coalition against torture has a round-up of responses to the report from religious leaders
- Mark Shea has a set of posts up arguing that the report calls for conversion and repentance, particularly for pro-life activists who have defended the use of torture
- Michael Peppard details how the report shows a policy of using religious faith as leverage for torture
- Artur Rosman considers the logic of sin from a different perspective in his post, and also what options we have for response
- Leah Libresco points out how torture damages the conscience of those who are ordered to carry it out as well
Please post links to other analyses and commentary on the report in the comments below.
