The War Around Us
an article by Wolfgang P. May

During the beginning of the war in Iraq, a group of our US Army veterans formed VeteransAgainstTorture.com. I was one of these six founding members. I am also working on a book, with the title: The War Around Us.

I intend to document my eyewitness account of the destruction of Dresden, and my service in Vietnam, first with the 1/10 Cavalry Squadron in the Central Highlands, then my work as an Advisory Team Leader in Ngo Trang, north of Kontum, and finally in Trung Lap, in the heart of the so-called "Iron Triangle"

Our veterans' group is also in constant contact with Cindy Sheehan, who continues to protest "our" illegal wars.

About war much has been written.
More must yet be said by those who saw them die,
so that the dead may rest, and sight be gained,
to see war for what it was, and is:

War is not fighting, though fighting's what we see,
nor is it death, for death is but its end.
It is the rancor of disunited hearts, the death of love,
the end of hope.

The war around us echoes in our hearts and grants it life.
Once, mortals dared to tame this ancient beast,
and yet it thrives.
Each age must fight this force again, or pay its price!

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Does torture produce reliable information?


As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.

Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:

NON-VIOLENCE

Latest reader comment:

The definitive answer to the question: Does torture work, appears already to have been resolved, in a book "Talking With Victor Charlie", an Interrogator's Story, by Sedgwick D. Tourison, Jr. That Ivy Books publication relates the author's personal experience in Vietnam, and clearly states that an interrogation using torture, is entirely ineffective. Just as many of our lesser interrogators found out, torture will motivate the unfortunate victim to say anything that the victim feels the interrogator wants to hear, just to stop the agonizing pain for a few minutes.

Before my service in Vietnam, when I was the Intelligence Operations Officer (under the Finnish-born Colonel Antero Aakkula, who was the G-2 of our 4th US Armored Division in Goeppingen, Germany) the trained Interrogators of our 504 MI unit confirmed the reality of the absolute idiocy of using torture to obtain valid military information.

Not only does the use of torture demean the humanity of Interrogator and Victim, but there is absolutely no useful value from the results.

This report was posted on June 24, 2009. The moderator is CPNN Administrator.

If you wish to start a new discussion topic on this article, please copy the title of this article which is The War Around Us and its number which is 439 and enter this information along with your discussion question and a brief text on the new topic form.

A few stories are retained on the main listings if they are considered by readers to be a priority. If you have not already done so, please take the time to check a box below: should this article be considered as a priority?