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Louis: My recommendation is to listen to Dave's recommendation.
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Hey, you know what I was thinking about, Louis, the other day, and my dad actually brought
this up to me also, is the whole dynamic of this enhanced interrogation technique language
that now has just become part of the... part of the conversation, it wasn't always this
way.
In other words, my dad... the way he brought it up was he started talking to me about Wolf
Blitzer, and he said you know, I was watching the other day, and Wolf Blitzer just referred
to waterboarding and some of the other techniques as "enhanced interrogation", and my dad, obviously,
being very, very progressive, said by definition, isn't that just a lie? I mean, why isn't he
calling it torture? Why, because it's not without controversy that the term "enhanced
interrogation" is being used, and it's not a term that has always existed. In other words,
it's a term that has been created with the specific goal of avoiding the word "torture".
Louis: Right.
David: So I kind of thought about it a little bit, and my reaction was well, what else could
he say? In other words, is he... he can't say torture, because again, that is... that's
not... even though maybe personally I or you might think that that's what it is or my dad
might think that it is torture, that's not really legally the case. In other words, there
is a lot of dispute around this. So I understand, just saying "enhanced interrogation" is also
not completely without bias, it's just more acceptable in corporate media.
Louis: Right.
David: So what about saying "so-called enhanced interrogation techniques"? But again, is that
really the unbiased way of describing these techniques that are the subject of much controversy?
Some would argue no, that using "so-called" is bias. In fact, Fox News specifically decided
to put "so-called" in front of discussions about health care and public options to make...
to cast doubt where they want it or to push the discussion in a certain direction. So
we know that the "so-called" strategy is a common Fox News strategy.
Additionally, what about the term "newly-coined enhanced interrogation techniques"? The "newly-coined
term, enhanced interrogation techniques".
Louis: But just by using the... just by using the term "enhanced interrogation techniques",
you're... that's where the problem is. That's where the problem is.
David: You're buying into that that is not torture. I don't know. What do you think on
this, Natan? So-called, newly-coined. Is there really any way, on a term that is at the subject
of controversy, to get a phrasing that people will even agree upon that will not be considered
pushing in one direction?
Natan: I mean, what I think makes the most sense is to just drag out the term so people,
at least for a split second during the news broadcast, they have a chance to think about
it, that it actually is an issue how you call it. So I mean, Wolf Blitzer could've said,
for example, "what some call enhanced interrogation techniques and others call torture", or just
say "waterboarding", which is like the actual action in question, one of the two. But if
you say the first thing I mentioned, I think that's good, because it makes it obvious that
it's a controversy, and then...
Louis: Yeah. You want to make light of the bias.
Natan: Right.
David: I don't think anybody... here's the thing, I would find that to be... I personally
think that a lot of these techniques are, even if not legally torture, not techniques
that the U.S. should be using, and even that are beneficial, OK? That's my opinion. I could
see being OK with that, saying "techniques which some call enhanced interrogation and
some call torture". I would be OK with that, even though I don't think... I don't buy into
"enhanced interrogation". But you know that very, very few pro-torture conservatives are
going to allow that and say that is... that is Wolf Blitzer being fair and unbiased. There
is no way at all.
Louis: No, he can't get away with saying that. We can.
David: So then the question becomes is this about the exact accuracy and precision of
the term Wolf uses as opposed to what can the corporate media do without being thrown
under the bus by the conservative spin machine?
Louis: So they're just playing it safe?
David: It would make sense to me. It would make sense to me.
Natan: Yeah, I mean, this is like part of the success of the Republicans. They create
this term, people start using this term, even people who don't necessarily agree with their
position, like say, Wolf Blitzer, and then what happens is this becomes the standard
term.
Louis: Now if you say... Yeah.
David: Right.
Natan: And then from there, you'll see...
Louis: If you say "torture", it means you've got an agenda.
Natan: Exactly, exactly.
Louis: Yeah.
Natan: And then later, they can create an even milder term than "enhanced interrogation
technique". I mean, if anyone sees a waterboarding going on, I don't think anyone's going to
call it an interrogation technique. And yet they call it that, but now, later on, they
can create another term that sounds even milder, and then the liberals will use "enhanced interrogation"
like that's the leftist term, you know?
David: Yeah, I mean, what will be the next step? "Flower-planting while being talked
to". That would be the next... we would lighten it up even more, right? I mean, I don't even
know.
Louis: Yeah.
David: "Fun with friends and talking about..."
Louis: Removing "enhanced".
David: Yeah.
Louis: And just having it fall in the category of "interrogation techniques".
David: And removing it from controversy. I don't know. What were you going to add?
Natan: No, nothing. I mean, they could probably convince people to call it, you know, "drinking
and talking".
David: Right. [Laughs]
Natan: And like eventually, I'm sure Fox News would adopt it. If you said the term "enhanced
interrogation techniques" has nothing to do with waterboarding.
David: No, it has nothing... it has nothing to do with enhancing anything, either, as
we know.
Louis: Right.
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