Torture Update

Yesterday I posted on the anti-torture campaign of some religious leaders. Consider now what can be found on THE PAGES OF THE LA TIMES:

The American Civil Liberties Union on Friday released a heavily redacted version of a military report on detainee abuses by special operations forces in Iraq. The report concludes that a series of sensational allegations by detainees could not be substantiated.

The report, compiled by Army Brig. Gen. Richard P. Formica, was completed last year, but a declassified version was not prepared until this month. It says some of the minor accusations — such as that detainees were fed only bread and water for more than two weeks — had merit. But it found there was no evidence for most of the more controversial allegations.

I think it is worth giving some thought to this news, which is found at the end of a fairly long piece. I noted in my earlier post that the group that had placed an add in many papers across the country, seemed to assume that allegations of abuse and torture, even the worse allegations, were true. Upon further review, apparently, of at least some of the allegations the findings are that "there was no evidence for most of the more controversial allegations." This report of no evidence comes at the end of a news article, and I assume many readers simply will not read to the end. I also suspect that there will be few if any headlines in newspapers across the county that look like: NO EVIDENCE OF CONTROVERSIAL ALLEGATIONS OF DETAINEE ABUSE IN IRAQ.

In watching politics over several years I now have seen many examples much like this. An allegation is made, and the news industry prints it up and talks it up. Later, the allegation is proven false, but the news industry often responds in a rather timid way. I can't say this pattern should not be expected, and I have come to expect this to be a very common pattern. Because this is my expectation, I have tried to develop ways of studying and watching politics and political issues to minimize the times I get fooled, and the times I miss seeing this pattern play out. I think an important part of this is that I now assume that it is not very likely I will learn what is true from just the news industry alone.

In thinking about the anti-torture add by religious leaders that I posted on yesterday, perhaps many of those leaders do not share my expectations about the news industry and about the discussions in the public square. So, perhaps in that earlier piece, I was a bit hasty to conclude the anti-torture campaign was pure politics. Perhaps a closer look by many of the signatories to the add would lead to a change in their views. Yet, if you understand that you cannot rely on the news industry to learn what is true and what is not true, then I find it difficult to think you could sign on to the add without choosing to play politics. And, as I wrote yesterday, I hope that bringing my faith to my politics means at least that I seek, long and hard, to bring clarity and truth to political discussion.