Ethics

Hitchens on Churchill and Torture

By Ed Brayton

Christopher Hitchens has a column in Slate following up on President Obama's mentioning of the British during World War II as an example of a nation that faced an overwhelming threat yet resisted the urge to torture those they had captured to get information from them. He adds some detail:

It would be reassuring to think that somebody close to Obama had handed him a copy of a little-known book called Camp 020: MI5 and the Nazi Spies. This was published by the British Public Record Office in 2000 and describes the workings of Latchmere House, an extraordinary British prison on Ham Common in the London suburb of Richmond, which housed as many as 400 of Hitler's operatives during World War II. Its commanding officer was a man named Col. Robin Stephens, and though he wore a monocle and presented every aspect of a frigid military martinet (and was known and feared by the nickname "Tin-Eye"), he was a dedicated advocate of the nonviolent approach to his long-term guests. To phrase it crisply--as he did--his view was and remained: "Violence is taboo, for not only does it produce answers to please, but it lowers the standard of information."

Full post as published by Dispatches from the Culture Wars on May 07, 2009 (boomark / email).