What Ambiguity?
Pat Sajak ·
May 2, 2011 at 7:40pm
From David Ignatius in The Washington Post: "Some of the detainees who confirmed the courier’s nickname were subjected to 'enhanced interrogation techniques,' the CIA’s formal name for what is now widely viewed as torture. This adds a moral ambiguity to a story that is otherwise one of triumphal retribution and justice."
The italics are mine, as is the certainty that we'll hear more about this "ambiguity" in the coming days.
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May '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
I sure hope so!
Re: What Ambiguity?
I'm with you, Pat. There's no moral ambiguity here whatsoever. Except, of course, the moral ambiguity involved in Ignatius's squirrely comment that waterboarding "is now widely viewed as torture." It isn't torture, and five or six or seven years' of having the likes of David Ignatius call it torture doesn't make it so.
Come to think of it, what Ignatius engages in here isn't morally ambiguous, either. It's just cheap.
Edited on May 2, 2011 at 7:59pmRe: What Ambiguity?
Hm. Could the lightning of inspiration strike Mr. Sajak twice?
Over to you, Pat.
May '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
This will blow over and be forgotten in a twinkling. Since it's not G.W.Bush at the helm anymore, righteous indignation is out of style.
Jul '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
To note the obvious (a talent of mine) morality is routinely ambiguous to the amoral.
Clearly, if a view is widespread, then it must be correct, or not.
I can't be sure, since I'm no philosopher, but I think that would also be true for an unpopular position.
Dec '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
If Obama had the true courage of his convictions, he would have issued an executive order on taking office not only to end enhanced interrogation techniques and extraordinary renditions, but to destroy all intelligence and evidence gained by such means or developed from information obtained by such means.
In criminal law, all of that would be (by the reckoning of folks like Candidate Obama or David Ignatius) "fruit of the poisoned tree." They might also cite the precedent of data collected by Nazi medical experimenters in the death camps, which some ethicists insist must never be used even to benefit humankind because its provenance is so depraved.
After all, wouldn't it be worth giving up a seven-year head start on finding Bin Laden to be able to carry out the search without any moral taint?
(sarcasm mode off)
Edited on May 2, 2011 at 8:14pmJul '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Moral ambiguity? Is that like when you use a a woman as a human shield?
Jul '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Double post glitch.
Edited on May 2, 2011 at 8:22pmJul '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
I predict the "moral ambiguity" factor will be quickly overshadowed by the "Democrat President needs his national security cred burnished for the upcoming election" factor.
That's the one upside to electing the media's candidate.
Oct '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Peter Robinson: I'm with you, Pat. There's no moral ambiguity here whatsoever. Except, of course, the moral ambiguity involved in Ignatius's squirrely comment that waterboarding "is now widely viewed as torture." It isn't torture, and five or six or seven years' of having the likes of David Ignatius call it torture doesn't make it so.
Come to think of it, what Ignatius engages in here isn't morally ambiguous, either. It's just cheap. · May 2 at 7:58pm
Edited on May 02 at 07:59 pm
Peter, "widely viewed" means "me and all of my friends."
Ambiguity? I don't see it. But there is plenty of irony to be found in the jingoistic response. I'm glad he's dead and I've always loved America. For some, this is apparently the first time they've been proud of their country.
Oct '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Outside of all the current political capitol Obama will gain out of this....
Puzzle this, just how did Bin Laden manage to survive this long with health problems and a bounty that would make most in his league sell their sister ?
Something is rotten here...
Re: What Ambiguity?
Peter Robinson: Hm. Could the lightning of inspiration strike Mr. Sajak twice?
Over to you, Pat. · May 2 at 8:02pm
If you'll allow for a coined word...
There once was a man named Ignatius
Whose quest for renown was rapacious.
But his ongoing snivel-ence
About moral equivalence
Has gotten me feeling pugnacious.
Dec '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
wilber, it's not much of a puzzle: his host country made sure he got whatever he needed without attracting undue attention.
Sep '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
How in the world can someone who views nonlethal torture as "a moral ambiguity" describe out-and-out elimination—I say hooray!—as "a story of triumphal retribution and justice"? Glenn Greenwald at least follows his principles. Ignatius? His leader.
Oct '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
So if I'm understanding Ignatius, the use of waterboarding to track down Bin Laden somehow casts a shadow of immorality on the otherwise saintly act of shooting him in the face. That makes sense.
Sep '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Pat Sajak
Peter Robinson: Hm. Could the lightning of inspiration strike Mr. Sajak twice?
Over to you, Pat. · May 2 at 8:02pm
If you'll allow for a coined word...
There once was a man named Ignatius
Whose quest for renown was rapacious.
But his ongoing snivel-ence
About moral equivalence
Has gotten me feeling pugnacious. · May 2 at 8:34pm
If Professor Cornel West can coin the word "surcame," and not in a poetic license context, then sure, Pat. We'll allow it.
As long as some writer from a pathetic liberal newspaper doesn't think it's moral ambiguity.
Jan '11
Re: What Ambiguity?
My wife finds nothing morally ambiguous about it. In fact, she's remarkably clear on the matter. I'm not sure I can repeat the whole conversation, but it has something to do with a sharp object and an orifice.
If I've heard the stories correctly, one report claimed that bin Laden's wife actually pointed him out. Another report says that it was (one of?) the wive(s) who was used as the human shield. I suppose bin Laden's marriage counseling didn't work out.
May '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
There once was a man named Ignatius
With arguments totally specious
Not hard to see why
He got easily by
On the Left they're just tot'lly capricious
May '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
The only sound about moral abiguity we'll hear from the Left is crickets chirping.
Well, maybe the occasional MSNBC/ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN Pundit Roach skittering across the floor.
May '10
Re: What Ambiguity?
Compare this to the "moral ambiguity" that too many liberals see in Castro and Chavez and their other socialist heroes: They love the utopian socialism, but they sometimes admit that maybe Castro is a bit too "enthusiastic" in his methods of achieving that totalitarian dream.