National Stupidity

The CIA has filed federal court papers to muzzle Al Queda suspects from reporting to the press the "alternative interrogation techniques" which they have undergone at secret CIA-run prisons abroad.

Today's New York Times quotes an official from the CIA's National Clandestine Service--a wonderful unit title which implies transparency at its parent group--who claims that such disclosures "could cause extremely grave damage to the national security,"and further, would empower the adversary to counter the techniques.

More important than the legal muzzle order is the moral implication. Everybody, including the President and Congress, knows that "alternative interrogation methods" means torture, and no organization can provide training to invalidate the effects of torture. The techniques of sensory deprivation, sensory overload, freezing, overheating, suspension by arms/thumbs/etc., waterboarding, electrical shock, sexual humiliation...these are the time-honored techniques, so what's the secret? That the American public is unaware of our below-board behavior? Without a doubt, our adversaries are aware of what constitutes torture.

Clandestine units aside, torture--closeted or not--cannot insure the U.S. national security. And as we're finding out lately in many public arenas, things won't stay in the closet for long.