by Sunny Hundal

If this is The Independent now, as a newspaper supposedly holding up liberal ideals, then it can’t get worse under Rod Liddle surely?

Today, Bruce Anderson starts off by saying:

Torture is revolting. A man can retain his human dignity in front of a firing squad or on the scaffold: not in a torture chamber. Torturers set out to break their victim: to take a human being and reduce him to a whimpering wreck. In so doing, they defile themselves and their society.

There is bound to be a ‘but’ here because Anderson is the resident war-mongering neo-con, employed by (supposed) liberal-left newspapers who like to think they should be balanced.

Here’s some excerpts, though feel free to read the whole thing:

We and the Americans have long-established methods of intelligence co-operation, which are now even more important than they were in the Cold War. It also makes sense to work with other threatened nations, such as Pakistan, where a brave political elite is bearing a disproportionate burden, and receiving few thanks for doing so.

…

Before 9/11, in front of some serious lawyers, I once argued that if there were a ticking bomb, the Government would not only have a right to use torture. It would have a duty to use torture.

…

After much agonising, I have come to the conclusion that there is only one answer to Sydney’s question. Torture the wife and children. It is a disgusting idea. It is almost a tragedy that we even have to discuss it, let alone think of acting upon it. But there is nothing to be gained from refusing to face facts, in the way that the Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuburger, did last week.

…

There is a threat not only to individual lives, which is of minor importance, but to our way of life and our civilisation. Torture is revolting, but we cannot substitute aesthetics for thought.

If I wanted this kind of balance I’d read the bible of wingnut neo-conservatism – FrontPage Magazine. I thought that kind of crap was only limited to the US, but now we’re getting it here.

On Sunday, in the Observer, Nick Cohen was having a go at judges for the Binyam Mohammad ruling:

Jonathan Evans, the head of MI5, added a further complication when he said that the Mohamed ruling provided a propaganda victory for our enemies. And I am sure he was right.

Nick Cohen has earlier justified torture under certain circumstances.

Now we just need Bruce Anderson to condemn Amnesty International for not upholding human rights and the circle would be complete.

[hat-tip @Naomimc]