CIA interogation and torture

Torture to extract information from important individuals has been part of war for centuries. Some may argue this information needs to be extracted by means of torture to save American lives. This rings true to a certain extent. The people administrating this torture, be it the CIA or whoever, need to realize that as humans we all have certain unalienable rights. I myself believe torture is an effective way of extracting information, but the horrors described in the articles I have read are something no human should have to endure.

                Things like anal feeding and making inmates wear a diaper have nothing to do with extracting important information, they are just cruel techniques to prolong suffering.  I‘d think things like mock burial, mock execution, sleep deprivation  and water boarding would be much more effective ways of extracting information without disfiguring the human body. 

                I also think the CIA should not allow two doctors who have limited experience in torture to develop types of torture for their organization.  Eighty million dollars is far too much to pay someone for coming up with ways to scare people. A kid in junior high could have come up with their techniques. For all we now these two doctors could have just searched google for ways to torture and be cruel to a human being and walked away with eighty million in tax payer dollars.

From an article I read on www.vicenews.com they claim that no unique or important information was extracted from prisoners detained in these so called black prisons. The article also talks about threats made by CIA to prisoners threatening to kill their families.  One CIA agent even said to a prisoner that he would never be put on trial because no one can know what I’ve done to you here. This only makes it more obvious that our tactics in interrogation need to be refined to make them both more effective and less brutal.

https://news.vice.com/article/senate-torture-report-finds-the-cia-was-less-effective-and-more-brutal-than-anyone-knew

EXTRA EXTRA CREDIT

The Forgotten Front (Retreat)

In the winter of 1941 to 1942 the Soviets became well supplied with weapons, munitions and well trained troops from Siberia. The Russians began their counter offensive against the Germans that winter trying to push out of the nearly encircled cities. With the Germans weakened by the cold the Soviets begin to gain their first victories on the eastern front.

With the coming of spring German troops were forced to fall back. This proved to be more difficult than it sounds, mainly because of the mud. Russia at this period in history lacked a decent road system. Most roads turned in to goo when the ground unfroze from the long winter.  It was hard to move troops and artillery because the artillery was pulled by horses and troops had to walk through the slop all day exhausting them.

Fun fact: the Germans cut down scores of roadside trees in Russia to make the roads with them.

The Germans were continually but slowly pushed back by the ever growing mass off Soviet troops and machinery.  The German situation was not helped by the attack by the allied forces in France. This split the German army in two, it was a devastating blow to their reinforcements.  The Russians also began to fight more fierce than every do to learning of the atrocities done to Jews, civilians, and prisoners by German rear guard and SS troops behind German lines.

Not so fun fact: Roughly 225,000 Jews were executed while Germany occupied soviet soil.

Eventually the soviets entered Germany out numbering the German soldiers nearly ten to one.

The soviet advanced through the weakened German defenses with ease, now fighting mostly tired disheartened soldiers, old men, and young boys. The German army prayed to be captured by the allies moving in from the west to avoid the stern hand of Russian captivity.

Fun fact: The German army reenlisted officers that had previously been discharged for wounds ( mainly amputees)  to lead the remaining troops.

Orders for the German soldier were not to retreat at all costs and hold the city of Berlin, the last holdout of German troops. On April 29,1945 Adolf Hitler supreme leader of the German army committed suicide. Berlin was taken by the Soviet Union on May, 12,1945 ending the war in Europe. Now the Germans were free of socialist control but stuck behind the iron curtain of communism.

I believe the Russian Campaign was a campaign of bravery, tactics, and brutality. It was a side of war much more primitive than that on the western front.  The people, the weapons and the landscape of this battle are all things that intrigue me and I wish to learn much more about this time in history.

fun fact: Some German prisoners were not released by the Soviets until 1956 and all soviet soldiers who had been outside the Soviet Union were forced into prison camps for two years by their own government for “reeducation”.

 Good books about the Eastern front:

1. At Leningrad’s Gates
2. Red Sniper on the Eastern Front
3. Sniper on the Eastern Front
4.  Blood Red Snow
5. Panzer Commander
6. Soldat

EXTRA CREDIT

The Forgotten Front (Advance)

World War 2 is a topic that peaks my interest but in the last few years I have found the eastern front (forgotten front) far more intriguing than any other aspect of the war. The average American usually has little to no knowledge about the events on the eastern front (1939-1945) other than what they may have seen in Hollywood films such as Enemy at the Gates. I find the tactics and people of this campaign very interesting.

In 1939 the start of the campaign on the eastern front began with Germany advancing into Poland.  Russia and Germany had previously signed a peace agreement to split the nation Poland and remain allies, but this agreement did not last long.  In early summer of 1941 the Germans cut Russian communications lines and advanced across Russia’s border surprising them. The operation was called

Operation Barbarossa.  German blitzkrieg units advanced quickly across the sparsely defended steppe at an alarming rate. 

The idea of blitzkrieg (lightning war), I think was a very revolutionary idea. Sending armor units through the front to harass the enemy from the rear really wreaked havoc on the opposing troops. And with soldiers distracted with the tanks infantry had a relatively easy job over taking the position. It also helped that at this time in the war Russian troops were under trained and under supplied.

Armor and artillery played huge rolls in the German advance to Moscow, Stalingrad, and the city of Leningrad. From biographies and the written soldier’s accounts I have read both sides feared shelling and were almost constantly shelled.  German soldiers later in the war particularly feared the Russian t34 tank, arguably the deadliest tank of the war.

Fun fact: The soviets used dogs with mines strapped to their backs as anti-tank weapons, but most times the dogs blew up Soviet t34’s because that is the tank the dogs were trained with.

 The German’s advance was halted at cities like Stalingrad, Leningrad and Moscow where Russian troops put up fierce resistance. Fighting was barbaric unlike anything ever seen before. For the first time in modern history house to house fighting was used on a large scale. The implement of the oh so controversial sniper also played a huge role in the battles  for Russia’s Industrial giants. The fighting that took place was so barbaric yet so modern all at the same time. Respect for human life was out the window. So many atrocities against civilians and prisoners happened  during those crucial years of the war, worsening the severity of battle. 

Fun fact:  Vasily Zaitsev(star of Enemy at the Gates) is not even in the top ten best soviet snipers- Ivan Mihailovich Sidorenko is the #1 soviet sniper with a recorded 500 kills.

I believe the turning point in the campaign on the eastern front was the arrival of the Russian winter. The men of the German army had never experienced such fierce weather. This is where the Russians had the upper hand, they were accustomed to the extreme conditions. The tide had turned, now the Germans were fighting without winter gear and there precision made weapons could not hold up to the ice.  They were in the same exact shoes as the great conqueror Napoleon had been a couple hundred years earlier. Frozen on the vast Russian steppe

This is the beginning of the end…

The 28^th Amendment

                I believe a 28^th amendment should be proposed to disband the Electoral College and make presidential election and other important votes solely in the hands of the citizens of the United States.

I believe the people should have the deciding say in who is leading their country. We are the majority.  I believe if this was truly a democratic nation we should have the deciding vote in who rules us. I also believe this amendment should state that each presidential candidate is given an equal and fixed amount for campaigning and they should have to keep records on the amount spent. This addition would give every candidate a fair chance to campaign equally to the people.  Thus making the lesser known candidates  of lesser known party’s apparent to the people. That way we can make a well-educated decision on who leads us.

Gun control has become a huge topic in American culture in the last couple of years. School shootings have become just another tragedy in the constant stream of mainstream media. What can we do to end these savage attacks? More gun control? Less gun control? Mental Health evaluations?  I think it’s a matter of people having an understanding and respect of guns and gun culture.  I do not agree with the leftist view of completely eliminating guns from our culture. I believe that is not only impossible but idiotic and I’ll tell you why.

                Ok, back to why I think people should have respect for guns and gun culture. Most people pushing for complete gun control don’t know the first thing about guns. They don’t understand the culture. I believe it’s necessary for our civilian population to be educated in these matters. If kids learn at an early age, as I did, to respect guns they will not only be safer, but they will learn to respect  the gun and its capabilities. An educated public is a safe public. If kids truly know how dangerous a gun is maybe things like the shooting of that little girl in flint Michigan would not have happen. But today kids are taught to fear guns and look at the rise in school shootings.

                I personally do not think America has a gun problem. I believe we have a safety problem and a problem with mental health in young people. Most all your mass shootings have been carried out by men under thirty with either mental health problem or a history of mental health problems. Sandy hook and the Aurora Theater shooting are two prime examples of this. So should we go blaming guns right out of the gate?? I say no. So what should we do about this? I’m all for in depth background checks. I mean guns should only be available to model citizens. Say you have a history of violent mental health, domestic abuse or battery of a police officer, should you be able to own a gun? I know I’d feel a lot safer with the criminally and mentally insane not having guns.  But now I pose the question, are back ground checks really going to stop the people from getting a gun, who want to use that gun in a violent crime? I say no . Guns are to easily accessible through black markets. 

                Mass shootings have seemed to have been a particularly convenient time for our president and the leftists in our political system to propose and pass gun control laws. The shootings create panic and they need something to blame so they blame guns. This panic gives the president public support. This is an old tactic actually proposed during the Kennedy presidency to gain support for a war against the communists in Cuba. Public shooting were to be staged and the communists were to be blamed, but Kennedy rejected the proposal.  So what I’m trying to say is that mass shootings create the perfect environment for pushing gun control. Our president has used these to his advantage, passing 23 gun laws with the use of executive order. Although I do agree with him on the more extensive background checks he is pushing it with the assault weapons ban. Does the constitution say we shouldn’t have those?

                Now we need to take a look at the second amendment. The second amendment states, “A well-regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.” It clearly states that it is the people’s right to bear arms and it should not be infringed. You just can’t remove an amendment that has been there since the birth of our country. Our founding fathers clearly found it important for our citizens to be armed and trained. It is what made our country free isn’t it? Our citizen should at least be able to counter the small arms of our military, assault weapon, smg’s, machine guns, etc…  Now to some this might sound insane, but bear with me. These weapons should only be available to upstanding citizen that are willing to protect our nation. If our government becomes tyrannical we are told to over throw it and how are we supposed to do that when we are out gunned by our opposing force. I believe the constitution should not be tampered with.

                With gun control being a hot topic into days media and culture it is important for us to be informed on this topic. School shootings are a tragedy and it does need to be addressed. Schools should be safer, kids should be taught gun safety, parents should teach their kids morals and society should not praise violence. All these thing would help keep our public places safe from another tradgedy.       http://tenthamendmentcenter.com/2014/09/22/2nd-amendment-original-meaning-and-purpose/

The Rise of the Muslim Menace

ISIS or ISIL has exploded in Middle Eastern countries in the past year. I think ISIS is definitely a threat, but I’m not sold that they are a huge threat to western powers just yet. With how rapidly it spread and took hold of the previously “liberated” Iraq, I believe ISIS will have no problem taking control of countries with weaker set governments,  piecemeal militaries and a strongly Muslim civilian population.  I think this is one reason they are so attractive to young people and young Muslims across the globe. They are creating a powerful Muslim based fighting force. And  kids look up to a strong influence and they want to be part of it.

                I believe Africa is at major risk of being controlled, or at least occupied by ISIS.  With a strong Muslim population and largely untapped resources, Africa would be a big asset to ISIS.  With weak war torn and disease ridden countries it would not be much of a challenge for them to gain a foot hold.

                I do believe well placed airstrikes are the way to deal with ISIS right now. Weakening supply routes would severely cripple their capability to spread further throughout the region. Boots on the ground is not the way to fight this group at this point. They are too unpredictable and there’s no need to sacrifice more lives. The public doesn’t want another Vietnam.  Plus every time we get rid of a radical group another pops up. All we can do right now is try to contain them and keep them from spreading their influence.

Thoughts on executive order, Abraham Lincoln and the actions he took during his presidency.

LINCOLN

Abraham Lincoln is probably one of the most popular presidents of all time, but is what we learned in grade school about the tall skinny man in the big top hat that freed the slaves all that there is to be said about this iconic figure. When we dig deeper and shed light on areas of Lincoln’s presidency overlooked by your average history class we find out Lincoln’s real motives and how abolishing slavery was  arguably a mere tactic to bring an end to the war. In the movie we watched in class it does not highlight the effects that abolishing slavery had on the war. The movie was given a feeling of urgency to draw in the audience.

                As a citizen of the United States, I would personally like to see our president use executive order as little as possible, However, there are times when it is necessary to do so. President Abraham Lincoln, for his time used an average amount of executive orders.  A lot of people during Lincoln’s presidency claimed he abused his executive powers. I believe that the only time people complain about such abuses of power is when it affects that person in a negative way.   Some of your most publicly supported presidents could be labeled “executive power abusers”, but most of their uses of that power are shrouded by events such as early 20^th century imperialism, economic booms, world wars and even extreme economic decline. When the executive order is something that the people support and benefits them no one calls the president a tyrant, but when it is not supported by the public all hell breaks loose.  And this is where we get back to Lincoln. He used his executive power to put in affect of the Emancipation Proclamation and pave the road for the complete abolishment of slavery in the entire country, something that seemed unimaginable to a good chunk of the population. Therefor he was crucified on a political cross by the supporters of slavery.  The general public also didn’t realize the affect the Emancipation Proclamation would have on crippling the South’s economy.  It’s no different than our president today and his healthcare program. It scares people, just as freed slaves scared people 150 years ago.

                So there’s my rant about Lincoln and executive power. Basically what I’m trying to say I believe executive powers should be respected and backed by the peoples opinion. I believe Lincoln was under a lot of pressure to end the war and he saw that the war was a good way to cloak the passing of the 13^th amendment and gain the support to end slavery. I am still torn what to think about Lincoln. He did some shady under the table stuff, but there’s no denying the man got stuff done and that’s why I think he is still regarded as one of Americas best presidents.