>City Councilman ejected from studio:
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>T. Bubba Bechtol, part time City Councilman from Pensacola, Florida, was asked on a local live radio talk show the other day just what he thought of the allegations of torture of the Iraqi prisoners. His reply prompted his ejection from the studio, but to thunderous applause from the audience.
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>"If hooking up an Iraqi prisoner's scrotum to a car's battery cables will save one American GI's life, then I have just two things to say:
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>"Red is positive, black is negative"

Now, this one raises many serious issues. Perhaps many of you are already aware of them, but anyway, here goes:

First, I very much dislike the fact that the word "American" is included in the reply. This sounds as if Americans are somehow worth more than people from other countries. What would the person interviewed think if the situation is reversed - if Americans are subjected to horrible tortures, to save Iraqui lives? How is this about "We hold these truths to be self-evident...", etc.?

This brings me to the next point, whether the cruelty that occurred in Iraq would actually benefit anyone. Personally, I don't think so.

Then, there are doubts about the old saying that the end justifies (or doesn't justify) the means. There are simply certain things which don't have any justification, and shouldn't be undertaken under any circumstances.

Finally, the reply seems to imply that there is nothing worse than death. I am sure that some of the tortured people would have preferred death to the pain they were subjected to - or, to give another example, to the humiliation of being forced to wank in front of cameras.