John McCain and the Hanoi Hilton
From the BBC, an interview with the man who claims to have been in charge of the prison camp where John McCain was held during the Vietnam war. The money quote:
“But I can confirm to you that we never tortured him. We never tortured any prisoners.”
And then from the expository ‘graf on Digg:
.More McCain lies! His ethics or lack of should be a main focus of the elections
I’m not a fan of John McCain, and I don’t plan on voting for him. (Not that I’m going to vote for Obama either, and I’m rather lukewarm on Bob Barr). But this is an example of very bad thinking. Tran Trong Duyet is a communist, self-admitted leader of the Hoa Lo prison camp, that is well-cited for engaging in torture.
When Mr Duyet says “we didn’t torture”, it doesn’t make it true. The fact that some people (like the person who posted this on Digg) believe him, because believing him is convenient to their political objectives, diminishes the poster, and the causes he or she fights for.
(Hello from an Obama voter)
Anyone who believes a North Vietnamese war criminal over McCain about the Hanoi Hilton has left the path of reason.
I certainly seen more than my share of unpleasant attacks on McCain by Internet commenters — abusing him for his thoughtful comment about America sometimes being hard to love, and his comment about learning to love his country when he was separated from it. Those are the things (those moments of candor, his personal experience) I like about John McCain.
Vote against the politics, not against the person.
Comment by Walter R. Moore — June 24, 2008 @ 9:19 am
PS: Perhaps they’re both “right” (in a very strictly legalistic sense)? Perhaps Vietnam has its own version of John Yoo?
Comment by Walter R. Moore — June 24, 2008 @ 9:20 am
I agree. I seriously doubt the claim that there was no torture on McCain–and besides, I really don’t think it matters. Torture and being a war captive does not make one a good person–if anything, it would make me wary of the person’s mental stability.
I just think it’s silly. McCain supporters never shut up about his time in Vietnam, as if that made him a good person, please don’t tell me Obama supporters will start debating whether or not he was actually tortured?
Let’s not lower ourselves to the level of the Swift Boat “Veterans”!
Comment by Blue Linchpin — June 24, 2008 @ 4:29 pm