May 31, 2007

11:52 AM

The phrase "Verschärfte Vernehmung" is German for "enhanced interrogation".
posted by bigmusic (10 comments total)

"Critics will no doubt say I am accusing the Bush administration of being Hitler. I'm not. There is no comparison between the political system in Germany in 1937 and the U.S. in 2007. What I am reporting is a simple empirical fact: the interrogation methods approved and defended by this president are not new. Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used by the president to describe torture-that-isn't-somehow-torture - "enhanced interrogation techniques" - is a term originally coined by the Nazis. The techniques are indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death."
posted by bigmusic at 11:54 AM on May 31, 2007

_{(er, I know)}
posted by delmoi at 11:58 AM on May 31, 2007

I think this is down below a few posts as well.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 11:58 AM on May 31, 2007

hrm you need to add my tags to your tags delmoi =)
posted by bigmusic at 12:02 PM on May 31, 2007

Oh my. Godwin'd from the get-go. Also, "what I am reporting is a simple empirical fact" is a bit like shouting "FIRE" in a crowded theater and then saying "Your honor, I was just pointing out the empirical fact--yes, FACT-- that there was a fire somewhere in the world at that time."
posted by MarshallPoe at 12:02 PM on May 31, 2007

What is German for "double post?"
posted by Pollomacho at 12:05 PM on May 31, 2007

Doppelganger!! DELETE! Schnell, schnell!!
posted by kittens for breakfast at 12:06 PM on May 31, 2007

I hoped to use Ajax flag power to flag this, but it didn't work. What gives?
posted by Mr. President Dr. Steve Elvis America at 12:07 PM on May 31, 2007

You know who else used enhanced interrogation...



that's right, Jack Bauer.
posted by Benjy at 12:10 PM on May 31, 2007

Doppelter Anschlagen!!
posted by SaintCynr at 12:11 PM on May 31, 2007