Mahler's Prodigal Son isn't a fan of Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. The man is, simply put, a disgrace. His pronouncements on a host of matters, in particular relating to Israel, are nothing short of shrill, barbaric and offensive. He has also been known to support torture in certain circumstances.
Now, he is back at it again with support for waterboarding. Never mind that most of the civilised world condemns it. As Information Clearing House reports in an analysis of this latest foray by Dershowitz into the spotlight:
"Alan Dershowitz is a skillful debater, a capable attorney, and and a ferocious defender of Israel. He is also a Harvard professor and a former member of OJ Simpson's legal defense called the Dream Team.
An article by Dershowitz appeared on op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal on Novemeber 7, 2007, titled “Democrats and Waterboarding”. In that article Dershowitz makes a spirited defense of waterboarding, going so far as to say that (he believes) the Democrats “will lose the presidential race if it defines itself as soft on terror.” Dershowitz thinks the Democrats are headed for trouble if they assume the “pacifistic stance” that he identifies with Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore. By using Moore and Sheehan as examples; it is clear that Dershowitz accepts the media's attempts to dismiss them as part of an imaginary “leftist fringe”.
And:
"In Dershowitz's book, "Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age," he says:
“No torture would be permitted without a "torture warrant" being issued by a judge....An application for a torture warrant would have to be based on the absolute need to obtain immediate information in order to save lives coupled with probable cause that the suspect had such information and is unwilling to reveal it....The warrant would limit the torture to nonlethal means, such as sterile needles, being inserted beneath the nails to cause excruciating pain without endangering life.”
It's shocking that a respected author and attorney would actually qualify the type of needles (“sterile”) that can be used while conducting torture. Can we see how outrageous this is?
The excerpt proves that Dershowitz advocates torture. The support for “torture warrants” is support torture. Period. It doesn't matter if the torture is limited to extreme cases or not. It's barbarism. More importantly, it is barbarism that is vindicated by the state."
Now, he is back at it again with support for waterboarding. Never mind that most of the civilised world condemns it. As Information Clearing House reports in an analysis of this latest foray by Dershowitz into the spotlight:
"Alan Dershowitz is a skillful debater, a capable attorney, and and a ferocious defender of Israel. He is also a Harvard professor and a former member of OJ Simpson's legal defense called the Dream Team.
An article by Dershowitz appeared on op-ed page of the Wall Street Journal on Novemeber 7, 2007, titled “Democrats and Waterboarding”. In that article Dershowitz makes a spirited defense of waterboarding, going so far as to say that (he believes) the Democrats “will lose the presidential race if it defines itself as soft on terror.” Dershowitz thinks the Democrats are headed for trouble if they assume the “pacifistic stance” that he identifies with Cindy Sheehan and Michael Moore. By using Moore and Sheehan as examples; it is clear that Dershowitz accepts the media's attempts to dismiss them as part of an imaginary “leftist fringe”.
And:
"In Dershowitz's book, "Shouting Fire: Civil Liberties in a Turbulent Age," he says:
“No torture would be permitted without a "torture warrant" being issued by a judge....An application for a torture warrant would have to be based on the absolute need to obtain immediate information in order to save lives coupled with probable cause that the suspect had such information and is unwilling to reveal it....The warrant would limit the torture to nonlethal means, such as sterile needles, being inserted beneath the nails to cause excruciating pain without endangering life.”
It's shocking that a respected author and attorney would actually qualify the type of needles (“sterile”) that can be used while conducting torture. Can we see how outrageous this is?
The excerpt proves that Dershowitz advocates torture. The support for “torture warrants” is support torture. Period. It doesn't matter if the torture is limited to extreme cases or not. It's barbarism. More importantly, it is barbarism that is vindicated by the state."
Comments