Actually I'm with you on this one. I still like the impact that it has and the demonstration of how important we feel the lives of our soldiers are.

I do believe that "American" was used simply because the gentleman was an American. I think it would have been superfulous to either state all the nationalities involved or try to make it generic. It could just as well have been Germans or any other country.

With regards to cruelty benefiting anyone, I believe that in certain times drastic measures are needed. If forcing someone to relate information that could save lives of my countrymen and our those of our allies, then I'm not really against it. I believe you and I will disagree on this, but the point of the joke is to be harsh and drive home the intent.

I also did not like the pictures of humiliation. That had nothing to do with extracting information. I will say that at times I do feel outrage - especially when I see the head being hacked off someone in the name of God. And what about what happens to anyone who would be part of that? Red is positive and 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.?
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>This brings me to the next point, whether the cruelty that occurred in Iraq would actually benefit anyone. Personally, I don't think so.
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>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.
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>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.