On the Waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

by Charles Lemos, Sun Apr 19, 2009 at 02:45:55 PM EDT

Our friends over at Firedoglake have put out a short post on the waterboarding of Al-Qaeda operative Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who was waterboarded 183 times in March 2003. I have always wanted to meet Khalid Sheikh Mohammed for I have a number of questions to ask him. You see, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed killed one of my closest friends, Daniel Pearl. I don't remember actually meeting Danny but we became close and fast friends in the Spring of our freshman year at Stanford. We would rush and pledge the same fraternity, share our love of folk music from the world over, muse what it was like to be American and not be American for he and I are sons of immigrants, and talk politics for hours on end. I last saw Danny five months before he was butchered by Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

Those of us who knew Danny are very protective of Danny and his legacy because Danny Pearl was an exceptional human being. It is hard to talk about Danny and not wax eloquent. It is beyond belief to us that when Al Qaeda killed Danny they killed someone who actually was interested in having their grievances heard. Not that Danny or I sympathized with Islamic terrorism but there are many who think it important to understand its causes so that we might be able to better mitigate its spread.

In thinking about Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the fact that he was waterboarded 183 times in the month of March of 2003, I cannot but express how this denigrates everything that Danny stood for. In waterboarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, we have descended to the level of that butcher. We have proved that we are no better than them and I refuse to believe that. The West has a moral obligation to live up to the ideals that Danny Pearl embodied.

Tags: Daniel Pearl, DOJ Memos, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Leahy Truth and Reconcilation Commission, torture, waterboarding (all tags)

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Re: On the Waterboarding...

Beautifully put. My condolences on your personal loss.

by Strummerson 2009-04-19 03:01PM | 0 recs

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Re: On the Waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

It's a small world. Daniel Pearl was killed because he was a Jew, and he died proud of it as I recall his last words.

I too feel for the loss of your friend.

by MainStreet 2009-04-19 04:10PM | 0 recs

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I am sorry for the loss of your friend

I was in the early part of my college years when this happened, and it was right around when the Iraq war business was starting. I remember being in a cab and hearing about Daniel Pearl, and that news mixed with everything that Bush was doing just made me think "the world is going crazy..."

by bluedavid 2009-04-19 05:40PM | 0 recs

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I hate to be cynical and negative

but I don't believe we as a people are any better than people like KSM...I really don't...the only difference is that we have more modernized ways of showing our barbarism.

I'm sorry, but discussing torture with (mostly Democratic) family and friends this weekend, I'm resigned to the fact that prosecution is hopeless and these "principles" we want to defend are nothing more than words on a piece of paper. I can't get anyone outraged about torture memos, but the Yankees lose a game by 18 runs and suddenly everyone wants to hit the streets.

When people start joking that we should waterboard the Yankees, something I've heard by more than one person today, I've given up on our "princples"

I'll still be that crazy guy, who's "heart bleeds for the terrorists" but if President Obama wishes to go forward in prosecution, God Bless Him

by DTOzone 2009-04-19 05:51PM | 0 recs

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Re: I hate to be cynical and negative

You're right on one level, Americans are disengaged from the realities of their government. It's fair to be cynical but I find it noteworthy that you spent time attempting to remedy the appalling apathy that reigns in this land. Citizenship is lost art that needs to be rediscovered. Danny was a citizen, a global one as well as an American.

by Charles Lemos 2009-04-19 06:12PM | 0 recs

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This is not a Troll comment, uprated accordingly

by Ravi Verma 2009-04-19 08:20PM | 0 recs

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Re: I hate to be cynical and negative

I agree. I think most Americans just can't bring themselves to care about the fact that the CIA tortured Arab Muslims. It comes down to that. My mom is a lawyer and says there is no way to get convictions for any of the people involved. As much as I wish this wasn't the case, I support Obama's pragmatic decision to not prosecute right now. I really want health care passed this year. I also read an interesting point that if the US tried CIA agents who were then acquitted it pretty much validates what Bush Co. say about torture and opens the door to widespread use after Obama leaves office.

by Lolis 2009-04-19 08:40PM | 0 recs

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Re: I hate to be cynical and negative

Just so I'm clear about your point, you think the United States is as barbaric as KSM and Al Qaeda? So we're no different than Hitler, Pol Pot, and the rest of the mass murderers throughout history?

by tpeichel 2009-04-20 06:12PM | 0 recs

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That's a little much

Hitler, Pol Pot and others murdered millions of their own citizens. A line would have been crossed if Bush started sending millions of Americans to the fields to be killed. That almost certainly would've outraged the public.

But, no, I don't think the United States is completely free of human rights abuses. I don't think any nation really is.

by DTOzone 2009-04-20 08:19PM | 0 recs

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Re: That's a little much

Al Qaeda kills its own people too. In Iraq, Al Qaeda killed a boy, cooked him, and served it to his family to send a message to the community that they better fall in line.

I agree that the United States has not been perfect, but I am interested in what we have done that puts us on par with an ideology that puts such little value on human life?

by tpeichel 2009-04-21 04:16AM | 0 recs

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Re: On the Waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

The problem with dealing with torture is that we don't want to think about what we have done. Average people not only don't really understadn waterboarding, they don't WANT to. Because there are some pretty terrible consequences to admitting something that horrible, and I just don't think we are ready for that as a nation.

But that does not mean we should not push HARD for an investigation anyway...

by Hammer1001 2009-04-19 07:07PM | 0 recs

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I am sorry for your loss;

but at the same time, you are fortunate in having such wise friends... even if such friendships are cut short.

by Ravi Verma 2009-04-19 08:21PM | 0 recs

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Re: On the Waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

"The West has a moral obligation to live up to the ideals that Danny Pearl embodied."

I am truly sorry for your loss, but America's and "the West' only obligation is defend and prevent it's citizens from being killed. Period.

Mr. Pearl's views are the product of being able to live in a free society. His views are the fruits of living in a country where free speech, dissent and free thought is encouraged.
However, Mr. Pearl perished at the hands of someone who would seek to stamp out the very liberties that crafted him.
As an American, I applaud Daniel Pearl for having these views. They are thoughtful, insightful and full of compassion and forgiving. Truly, these are qualities that we should all strive for.
However as American, I feel that I am duty-bound to to support whatever efforts my country sees fit to destroy those who would kill a man because of his thoughts.

by xodus1914 2009-04-21 08:57AM | 0 recs

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Re: On the Waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khalid_Shai kh_Mohammed

by xodus1914 2009-04-21 09:01AM | 0 recs