24 and Torture

As I watched an abnormally unsuspenseful episode of 24 last night, two thoughts drifted into my TV numbed mind.  First, this president is an idiot.  You obviously retreat your troops until you can secure the CPU device as the terrorists have the ability to destroy your infrastructure and kill millions of Americans with a blink of an eye. Obviously. And two, wow…24 really makes the case for torture.

I have to admit that I was slightly surprised that Obama led with the closing of Guantanamo Bay on the very first day of his presidency.  With all eyes on the US economy, the closing of the navel based seemed…well, less of a priority.  And yes, I understand that it was probably meant to signal the dawn of a new era of US foreign policy, one that would no longer promote democracy and due process for it citizens, but not extend the same rights to those who exist just beyond its borders.  That being said, I still found it odd, not because Obama’s actions were odd, but odd because the potential torture and imprisonment of hundreds/thousands of people seemed like less of a priority than the economy.

And that’s when I realized…Fox Media is slowly warping my mind. But more seriously, I struggle with topic of torture.  As a left leaning liberal, I should be adamantly opposed to torture…that the ends do not justify the means.  But as a realist who fundamentally believes that there is evil in this world, I am secretly glad that there are Jack Bauers out there to do my dirty work. It’s like this scene in A Few Good Men:

He’s right. I can’t handle the truth.

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