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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Home News Latest Stories 10 things to know for Friday They got algorithm Posters about missing teen will be distributed Competition keen at first city chili cookoff Alice Hardesty shares healing memoir Education Ashland schools expand chicken pox exclusion rules Students go behind the scenes at hospital Ashland robotics team aims to build a winner AHS ranked No. 7 by Niche College debt load balloons: What could, should be done? 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In memoriam: 2014’s notable deaths Sports Latest Stories Respect: sock it to him A Grizz sweep Heisman winner Mariota says he's going to the NFL Comets press past Grizzlies Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones High school A Grizz sweep Comets press past Grizzlies Raiders put on a show Graham sparks Grizzly rout Ashland drops MWL opener to Marist Southern Oregon University Heisman winner Mariota says he's going to the NFL Buckeyes won title behind line play, Elliott and Jones Sayre says character key to SOU's success Ducks grounded Raiders put on a show Opinion Latest Stories Kent Bush: Capital punishment raises questions Our View: A matter of survival Letters to the Editor, Jan. 16 Other Views: Get GMO rules right Editor's Notes: We were wrong Editorial Our View: A matter of survival Other Views: Get GMO rules right Our View: No benefit from LNG pipeline Our View: Putting slash to work Our view: Protect Ashland's crown Letters Letters to the Editor, Jan. 16 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 14 Letters to the Editor, Jan. 5 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 31 Letters to the Editor, Dec. 29 Guest opinions Guest Opinion: Bikes, hikers/equestrians need separate watershed trails Guest Opinion: SOU biomass burner would be big mistake Guest Opinion: City hiring policy is fair, unbiased Another view: Cheney defends nation's journey into darkness Herb Rothschild Jr.: Fury impedes justice Revels Latest Stories Thanks for the Memories Theatre presents 'Cardenio' Best Bets: Jan. 15-22 A look at the life and vision of Martin Luther King Jr. 'Spotlight' highlights Orbison's life, music 'Selma' struggle remains relevant today Theater Insights into the gifts theater offers off the stage Theater is an act of co-creation ACT presents reading of 'The Quality of Life' Music Jeff Kloetzel at Belle Fiore The Farr Side: Top 10 album count-up for 2014 Visual Art Schneider winter exhibits on tap: 'Baker's Dozen' and 'New Works' First Friday kicks off a new year Movies Movie review: ‘Blackhat’ is a frustrating 404 error Movie review: ‘A Most Violent Year’ is a gritty look at oily dealings in ’80s New York Movie review: Clint Eastwood shines as director in ‘American Sniper’ 'Selma' struggle remains relevant today Interview: Bradley Cooper discusses working with Clint Eastwood on ‘American Sniper’ Food and Drink Food for Thought: Wintertime wining and dining Cruelest Month: Poetry Blog Lifestyle Latest Stories Ride & Drive: 2015 Cadillac Escalade Dr. Jeff Hersh: Heart test causes undue alarm Dr. Murray Feingold: How reliable is the medical information we read? Looking Up: Comet passes by the Pleiades Suzette Martinez Standring: Chance advice was eerie Aging Happens Inner Peace Column Inner Peace Blog Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » Obituaries Photos Videos Blogs Business NEWS NOW Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... Our View: A matter of survival ... Posters about missing teen will be distributed ... Brammo bought by Polaris ... ANOTHER VIEW Another view: Cheney defends nation's journey into darkness Comment By Chris Honoré for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 @ 12:01 am By Chris Honoré for the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Social News Toward the end of the war with Japan, when America dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, the Japanese civilian and military leadership were rocked to their core. The devastation was of a kind never before seen. At the time, the Japanese were holding a prisoner of war, P-51 fighter pilot Lieutenant Marcus McDilda. Convinced that this pilot had information about this new weapon, the Japanese questioned him about what he knew. His main interrogator wanted to know how many more such bombs the Americans had in their arsenal. McDilda told his captors that he knew nothing of the bomb, nor did he know anything about a program called the Manhattan Project. The Japanese did not believe him and he was tortured and threatened with beheading — a samurai sword was held to his throat — and asked the same questions over and over: Explain how the bomb was built and how many did the Americans have? McDilda quickly realized that his only hope of surviving was to dissemble and tell his captors what they wanted to hear. He fabricated his answers (embellished with some high school chemistry) regarding the assembly of the bomb and “confessed” that indeed the U.S. had over a 100 such weapons and Tokyo was going to be bombed next. Kyoto would soon follow. The Japanese, now satisfied that they had finally gotten the truth as a result of what we now euphemistically call “enhanced interrogation techniques (E.I.T),” passed the information along to Imperial Headquarters. Dilda’s statements, such as they were, may have played a role in the decision of Japan to surrender. In the months and years following 9/11, according to the release of the summary of the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on torture, the Republican administration embraced the idea that if there was truth to be gleaned, meaning actionable intelligence, it would come from “enhanced interrogation techniques.” We soon created a series of “black sites” overseas where such techniques were used on detainees. The means justified the end, we told ourselves. These were, after all, exigent circumstances. The methods used included sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, hanging prisoners by their wrists to an overhead bar for 22 hours a day, repeated waterboarding, rectal hydration and rectal feeding, and holding prisoners in coffin-sized boxes for days. And more. One detainee was shackled to the floor, doused with water, and died during the night from hypothermia. We only need to view the grim photographs from the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq to get a full sense of the panoply of cruelty imposed on those held and the tone set by the administration. Actually the images beg the question whether this was, as has been asserted, to get information, or was it instead an expression of our abiding rage and anger at those we held, however tenuous their connection to the perpetrators of 9/11 (if they had any connection at all). Our history during this period, under the direction of Vice President Dick Cheney (the designated lead) and President George W. Bush, demonstrates that in the aftermath of the tragedy of 9/11 we abandoned our fundamental commitment to justice as well as our embedded values of civil liberties, habeas corpus, human dignity and due process. What is even more chilling is to listen to Cheney justify the actions — which are crimes, prohibited by federal law and the Convention Against Torture. In an interview on Meet the Press, when told that some 26 detainees had been wrongly held, Cheney said he had no problem with that as “long as we achieved our objective and our objective was to get the guys who did 9/11 and avoid another attack.” In other words, the blameless were simply collateral damage. He went on to insist that waterboarding was not torture and rectal hydration and feeding was done, most likely, for medical reasons. His conviction continues to be unshakable. We as a nation did what we had to do and to question enhanced interrogation is a disservice to our country. He referred to the committee’s summary report as “crap.” Cheney emphatically defends his journey into darkness and insists that it was necessary, though history has taught us that his words are not unique but have been spoken again and again in the past, before international tribunals and juries. It is up to us to remind ourselves who we are as a people and what should and should not be done in our name. Clearly, it cannot be up to Mr. Cheney. Chris Honoré lives in Ashland. By Chris Honoré for the Tidings DailyTidings.com By Chris Honoré for the Tidings Posted Jan. 12, 2015 @ 12:01 am » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. calendar Connect with DailyTidings.com Facebook Twitter RSS Back to top Reader Services Reader Services home Subscriptions Subscriber controls Contact us Submissions Photos Events Letters to the editor Corrections Alerts Email alerts RSS feeds Text Alerts Advertise Media Kit Home Products and services Ad rates Advertising contacts Mail Tribune Daily Tidings The Nickel Shop Our Valley Blogs Stay Informed Email newsletter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Your privacy is important, read our privacy policy. © Copyright 2015 Local Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 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