Why was Dershowitz so wrapped up in Torture so long ago?

Must_B_Free

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:27 PM
Original message

Why was Dershowitz so wrapped up in Torture so long ago?

Edited on Sun Jun-13-04 01:31 PM by Must_B_Free

It's almost as if they were purposefully planning all that went on in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere and as if he were in on everything, before it even happened.

So the big question to me is? Why? Why shoudl Anal Dershowitz focus such attention on torture when it isn't something that should even be an issue.

And if tor5ture was being discussed at the highest levels of government a couple of years ago, why should Dershowitz be privy to those discussions? What club is he a member of that gives him such a line inside the innerworkings of government?

Who was really in on planning and ordering this torture stuff?

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LowerManhattanite

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:33 PM
Response to Original message

1. My mom has said the same thing about Dershowitz...

...and she feels that perhaps...just perhaps, he was...how you say...consulted on this issue by some of these prominent neo-cons early on. He may have seen this being a potential problem and thus, he opted to pre-emptively defend the policy, knowing that his stature as a legal scholar would give some cover, PR-wise.

Moms...gotta love 'em! :)

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Eric J in MN

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:34 PM
Response to Original message

2. I'm not convinced Dershowitz knew. nt

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Must_B_Free

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:36 PM
Response to Reply #2

3. OK

Edited on Sun Jun-13-04 01:37 PM by Must_B_Free

But then why did the worlds leading legal defense and human rights avocate suddenly start pushing the virtues of torture on evenyone from out of the blue, several years ago? Just a coincidence?

Why even bring torture into the conversation several years ago?

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LowerManhattanite

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:46 PM
Response to Reply #3

5. The hypothetical "consultation" with Dershowitz...

...was probably informal. But...as Alan looooooves to hear himself talk, he probably was quite expansive on the subject, thus giving quite a bit of advice. He's also quite the capitalist and having had these expansive discussions, they probably sparked the idea for a lucrative book subject.

The subject is so off the beaten path that for one of the nation's leading legal writers/experts to write so extensively on it at the time it was occuring seems to be more than just co-inky-dink.

It smells..how do you say it...funny.

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Eric J in MN

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:53 PM
Response to Reply #3

7. I don't know. But maybe he thought that would be a way to

I don't know. But maybe he thought that would be a way to get-tough on terrorists.

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hlthe2b

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:43 PM
Response to Original message

4. good question... Has anyone seen an interview with him since the horrors

of Abu Ghraib became public?

I fear some may be right, that he was consulted by the Neocons... He is after all among the most staunch Zionists*.

*this is only a statement in truth, not a slam against Israel to any who might misinterpret my statement-- read his book. I'm only drawing a connection to the Neocons support for Israel and Dershowitz might well have given some common ground...

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Eric J in MN

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Sun Jun-13-04 02:08 PM
Response to Reply #4

8. Someone posted he was interviewed on Nightline a couple of

Someone posted he was interviewed on Nightline a couple of months ago.

You could do a lexis-nexis search.

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hlthe2b

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Sun Jun-13-04 04:18 PM
Response to Reply #8

10. No access to lexis-nexis... unfortunately... eom

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OKNancy

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Sun Jun-13-04 01:51 PM
Response to Original message

6. As I recall, Dersh wasn't talking about wholesale

torture, but trying to make a case, that in a life or death matter, that it was okay....and should be regulated.

( I don't agree with him, so save it)

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LowerManhattanite

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Sun Jun-13-04 02:09 PM
Response to Reply #6

9. I agree with you Nancy.

I agree with you. That's the speciousness of his argument for it's use.

"and should be regulated"

How does one regulate "torture" per se? The act itself is a departure from legal norms in the first place.

It's such an odd subject to fixate on that I just feel that it's more than just coincidence.

All feel free to goof on what brand of tinfoil you think I use: Reynolds Wrap or Diamond Wrap. But I don't think I'm pushing to far with this view.

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NashVegas

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Sun Jun-13-04 04:49 PM
Response to Original message

11. I Posted About This Earlier Today

in this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1782742&mesg_id=1782742(CBS)

Is there a place in the U.S. justice system for torture?

Alan Dershowitz, the civil libertarian defender of O.J Simpson, believes the law should sanction torture so it may be applied in certain cases, such as terrorist acts.

In a report to be broadcast Sunday on 60 Minutes, Dershowitz tells Correspondent Mike Wallace that torture is inevitable. �We can�t just close our eyes and pretend we live in a pure world,� he says.

After the events of Sept. 11, with many al Qaida members in custody, Dershowitz says he wants to bring the debate to the forefront. He gave the �ticking bomb� scenario - a person refusing to tell when and where a bomb will go off � as an example of the type of case warranting torture.<snip>

...more...

http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,324751-412,00.shtml

That was in 2002!

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