Delaware Top Blogs

Saturday, October 06, 2007

Bunch of old farts get together to grouse

because the people doing the work today aren't doing it their way.

W

hen about two dozen veterans got together yesterday for the first time since the 1940s, many of the proud men lamented the chasm between the way they conducted interrogations during the war and the harsh measures used today in questioning terrorism suspects.

Back then, they and their commanders wrestled with the morality of bugging prisoners’ cells with listening devices. They felt bad about censoring letters. They took prisoners out for steak dinners to soften them up. They played games with them. “We got more information out of a German general with a game of chess or Ping-Pong than they do today, with their torture,” said Henry Kolm, 90, an MIT physicist who had been assigned to play chess in Germany with Hitler’s deputy, Rudolf Hess.


It's tough to watch these young whippersnappers, isn't it? Things were obviously better in the good old days.

Note to interrogators:
Learn to play chess! and all your problems will be solved.

2 comments:

KurtP said...

I saw that story too. The first thing I thought of (after seeing the places the majority worked) was that "Yeah, but we (us and the Axis) had a common history and religious beliefs.
Those islamofasciests don't believe in anything we do,,like common humanity, mercy to your enemies, the rule of law,,,,,,

miriam sawyer said...

Kurt: That did occur to me, too.