Special Method

The assistant to the President for counterterrorism and homeland security recently released an editorial in the USA Today in which he briefed about the way the CIA uses “special methods” to extract information from suspected terrorist. Throughout the article, the author, Fran Townshed, intentionally tries to persuade the reader to trust the way our government performs this operation.

http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2007/10/opposing-view-1.html#more

The article starts off by mentioning Sept. 11, 2001 which really has affected all citizens of the United States whether directly or indirectly. The author plays an emotional factor to everyone when talking about 9/11 because we can all internally relate to that day in our history. But one can not help but be reminded about how that day galvanized the responsible members of our country’s administration to lead a war against terror. This irrational decision used up nearly all the energy that was created after 9/11, and the thought of someone bringing up 9/11 to influence us again is predictable and misleading. So by stating what happened on that day, the author’s view mirrors that of the presidents’. This in turn fuses the author to the president’s back generating a creature with two heads with both mouths speaking the same language of propaganda in unison.

Going into the article itself, the author is content on leading the reader to believe that the program enforced by the CIA is both effective and humane. But nowhere in the article does he mention specifically what those “special methods” are. Since this program is directed by the CIA, its given secrecy can’t be tested by any outside sources to see if the program is really producing any positive results that the author claims. He also doesn’t reproduce any hard facts as to how this method has helped us “locate terrorist, disrupt plots and save lives.” It seems that the author is just speculating and wishing that the program is a success.

In addition to that, who is to say that this program doesn’t include any aspect of torture? After all, we are taking the word of those who are administering this so called “special method.” The only way to really know if the program doesn’t involve any torture is to ask those who went through the interrogation program, the suspects themselves. But we aren’t allowed to hear this open discussion because the detainee’s voices are silenced, and I’m convinced that the government goes to great lengths to make sure that these individuals aren’t allowed to be forthcoming in their experiences. It’s exceedingly difficult to comprehend anything involved in this program without knowing the entire truth behind it.