The U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence released a bombshell report on Tuesday morning revealing that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) lied about the effectiveness and cruelty of its torture program. As the mainstream political world dissected the 525-page report’s objectively horrifying revelations, however, many who support the government’s international-law violations doubled down on their beliefs.
@SunshineEmpire @EdMorrissey @GayPatriot Torture works
— Javier Manjarres (@JavManjarres) December 9, 2014
Libtards=>CIA Torture Rpt=>Bush, Cheney bad. Obama-give Iran nuke, open borders to terrorists, incite race wars, alignw/Muslim Brohood-good.
— Beach lover (@Swanny3210) December 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/TheBrettSnyder/status/542363189925933056
@SenFeinstein Who cares? The CIA didnt torture enough of them.
— monthlymonthclub (@onegoodweek) December 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/bkparallax/status/542359317781807104
Who cares if we tortured terrorists? I’d be more pissed off if we didn’t torture them
— Jake Sandlin (@JSandlin502) December 9, 2014
The outpouring of support for the CIA’s human rights abuses demonstrates the powerful dehumanizing effect that the all-or-nothing War on Terror produced in American society. Fox News responded to the release of the Senate report by doubling down on one of its longest-running messages to viewers: America is exceptional and anyone who criticizes what it does should grow up.
“The U.S. is awesome” but “this administration wants to have this [torture] discussion to show us how we’re NOT awesome.” —@AndreaTantaros
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 9, 2014
Another @OutnumberedFNC sound bite: “So we roughed up a few of ’em. So we humiliated a few terrorists. No one cares,” Jesse Watters says.
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) December 9, 2014
Many of the torture-supporting conservatives’ tweets use the words “bastard” and “animal” to describe individuals suspected (but not convicted) of supporting or engaging in terrorism. For one side of the debate over torture, no technique should be taken off the table—no matter how legally, morally, or pragmatically discredited it has been.
https://twitter.com/cmahar3/status/542359001640349696
https://twitter.com/DeCrescenzo/status/542365840298229760
If this be torture, let there be more of it,
— Jim. (@duck464) December 9, 2014
@Rosserford u r joking right. Torture is extremely effective.It has a very high success rate of getting information that’s NEEDED.I’m sure.
— Shannon onions (@funions86) December 9, 2014
Terriorists torture & bhead our ppl but enhncd interrogatn is terrible, is that what ur sayg about these bastards Sen Feinstein? #CIAReport
— shelly-bo-belly (@Shelly_l_M) December 9, 2014
@Reuters good Muslims declared war on America let’s go after them torture those bastards they cut heads off
— joseph casey (@ocasey321) December 9, 2014
@TexasWench
— Franny Bananny✡️🇮🇱 (@TexasWench) December 9, 2014
Wasn’t it torture for the ppl trapped in buildings⁉️I don’t care what they did 2 get info…️BASTARDS killed all these ppl…
Liberals have no problem aborting (Murdering) innocent babies but water boarding terrorists is “torture.” These are Sick Bastards!
— Doug Pircher (@pircher_doug) December 9, 2014
https://twitter.com/geosplace/status/542356097118785536
No tweet better summarizes the sad irony of right-wing support for torture than that last one, written by someone who calls himself a “constitutional conservative.”
Photo via Val Kerry/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
