I wouldn’t normally post a link to the Independent, mainly because of Bruce Anderson. A few years ago, I liked that newspaper’s international and environmental coverage, the columns by Robert Fisk and even its silly covers. But it was Bruce Anderson’s bilious opinion pieces that made me turn away for good.
Tonight, I read an opinion piece on the Guardian which obliged me to see what this stupid man had written. His article which, through a series of bafflingly illogical and incoherent arguments, makes the case for torture – frankly beggars belief. One can only assume that he is either a malicious agent provocateur, a truly evil pervert or simply stupid. I think you’ll agree that I’m being charitable when I plump for that last answer. The article is so riddled with fallacy and flaw that I have neither the time nor the patience to pick it apart here. Read it for yourself and see whether I’m really employing an ad hominem fallacy, or whether my treatment is actually quite fair. After all, we needn’t waste our time debating what fools say, right?
More importantly, why is that only since Iraq and Guantanamo that the liberal media have decided torture by Western states is suddenly as issue worthy of coverage? The US has been carrying it out for decades in South America courtesy of the lovely School of Americas but for some reason, it wasn’t even an issue in the 1970’s and 80’s when it was at its height.
As regards Anderson, I wouldn’t expect anything less insane from a man who also wrote “Save the bankers! Only they can deliver economic growth”:
http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/bruce-anderson/bruce-anderson-save-the-bankers-only-they—can-deliver-economic-growth-1835524.html