Torturing Mormons

[YOhio]

Mike hasn't gotten pissed off in a while. This may help. From a July article in Vanity Fair:

Two psychologists in particular played a central role: James Elmer Mitchell, who was attached to the C.I.A. team that eventually arrived in Thailand, and his colleague Bruce Jessen. Neither served on the task force or are A.P.A. members. Both worked in a classified military training program known as sere—for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape—which trains soldiers to endure captivity in enemy hands. Mitchell and Jessen reverse-engineered the tactics inflicted on sere trainees for use on detainees in the global war on terror, according to psychologists and others with direct knowledge of their activities. The C.I.A. put them in charge of training interrogators in the brutal techniques, including "waterboarding," at its network of "black sites." In a statement, Mitchell and Jessen said, "We are proud of the work we have done for our country."
The agency had famously little experience in conducting interrogations or in eliciting "ticking time bomb" information from detainees. Yet, remarkably, it turned to Mitchell and Jessen, who were equally inexperienced and had no proof of their tactics' effectiveness, say several of their former colleagues. Steve Kleinman, an Air Force Reserve colonel and expert in human-intelligence operations, says he finds it astonishing that the C.I.A. "chose two clinical psychologists who had no intelligence background whatsoever, who had never conducted an interrogation … to do something that had never been proven in the real world."
The tactics were a "voodoo science," says Michael Rolince, former section chief of the F.B.I.'s International Terrorism Operations. According to a person familiar with the methods, the basic approach was to "break down [the detainees] through isolation, white noise, completely take away their ability to predict the future, create dependence on interrogators."
Interrogators who were sent for classified training inevitably wound up in a Mitchell-Jessen "shop," and some balked at their methods. Instead of the careful training touted by President Bush, some recruits allegedly received on-the-job training during brutal interrogations that effectively unfolded as live demonstrations.
Mitchell and Jessen's methods were so controversial that, among colleagues, the reaction to their names alone became a litmus test of one's attitude toward coercion and human rights. Their critics called them the "Mormon mafia" (a reference to their shared religion) and the "poster boys" (referring to the F.B.I.'s "most wanted" posters, which are where some thought their activities would land them).

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/f...urrentPage=all

[creekster]

I have an idea: WHy don't you start a poll to see how we all feel about this?

[MikeWaters]

It does seem that Mormonism's hands have been there are every turn of this sordid time in our country that embraces torture.

I'm hoping this bites Romney in the ass, and I may be writing the NYTimes editors to make sure they run the story at the appropriate time.

But can't talk more, have to drive to bike rally.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

It does seem that Mormonism's hands have been there are every turn of this sordid time in our country that embraces torture.

I'm hoping this bites Romney in the ass, and I may be writing the NYTimes editors to make sure they run the story at the appropriate time.

But can't talk more, have to drive to bike rally.

Why would you wish Romney harm from something he had no control over?

[JohnnyLingo]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Why would you wish Romney harm from something he had no control over?

Mike takes the anti-Romney line to troll the mullahs. It's that simple.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by JohnnyLingo

Mike takes the anti-Romney line to troll the mullahs. It's that simple.

Mike is surprisingly uncharitable toward Romney, even while he cuts Hillary complete slack. Although Mike is intelligent enough for politics, I doubt he has the stomach for what it takes to be effective, given his strong philosophical leanings.

[YOhio]

Originally Posted by Archaea

Mike is surprisingly uncharitable toward Romney, even while he cuts Hillary complete slack. Although Mike is intelligent enough for politics, I doubt he has the stomach for what it takes to be effective, given his strong philosophical leanings.

Mike was interested in Romney, to the point where he said he would consider sending him money, prior to his comment about doubling Gitmo. At that point, it appears that Mike has taken the stand that Romney has sinned against the greater light and cuts him no slack.

[Archaea]

Originally Posted by YOhio

Mike was interested in Romney, to the point where he said he would consider sending him money, prior to his comment about doubling Gitmo. At that point, it appears that Mike has taken the stand that Romney has sinned against the greater light and cuts him no slack.

But he has no idea if any Dem would be better.

For me, no President will go far on the torture issue, because it doesn't sell presidencies, and it's a small ticket item. I doubt any of the candidates are really far apart on this issue. They will rely upon advisors as what is required and what is lawful.

[MikeWaters]

Do we know if James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen are active members of the church? Do they have callings?

[Tex]

Originally Posted by MikeWaters

Do we know if James Elmer Mitchell and Bruce Jessen are active members of the church? Do they have callings?

Yes, they live in my ward. They have been called into the Young Men's program. Anytime one of the boys gets too rowdy, he gets to spend time with Brother Mitchell and Brother Jessen.

We have a very reverent group.





This post is TIC for the humor impaired.