{"id":14599,"date":"2014-12-18T12:35:17","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T17:35:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pardeeschool\/?p=14599"},"modified":"2021-02-04T10:16:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-04T15:16:29","slug":"bacevich-on-torture-and-permanent-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bu.edu\/pardeeschool\/2014\/12\/18\/bacevich-on-torture-and-permanent-war\/","title":{"rendered":"Bacevich on Torture and Permanent War"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PARDEETR\"<\/a>Andrew Bacevich,<\/a> professor emeritus of International Relations at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University,<\/a> shared his insights as a former U. S. Army colonel to highlight the consequences of torture and permanent war.<\/p>\n

Bacevich’s pieces followed the explosive release of a U. S. Senate report<\/a> on the CIA’s use of torture following the Sept. 11 attacks. Bacevich wrote an op-ed for the Dec. 9 Boston Globe titled “Torture report highlights the consequences of permanent war.” In it, he said:<\/p>\n

War thrusts power into the hands of those who covet it. Only the perpetuation of war, whether under the guise of \u201ckeeping us safe\u201d or \u201cspreading freedom,\u201d can satisfy the appetite of those for whom the exercise of power is its own reward. Only war will perpetuate their prerogatives and shield them from accountability…And so it has come to pass, the United States in our own time having indisputably embraced torture as an allowable practice while disregarding the rule of law and trampling underfoot the values to which the chief representatives of the state routinely profess to adhere.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

You can read the full op-ed here.<\/a><\/p>\n

Bacevich also appeared on Radio Boston on Dec. 11 to discuss the abuses of power highlighted by the torture report. You can hear the whole conversation here.<\/a><\/p>\n