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Sorry for the late reply - I've been out of town for a few days.
It seems that we're talking about two different things; you're talking about anti-terrorism experts, I'm talking about prison treatment. If you are who you say you are ... you probably (and hopefully!) know more about counterterrorism than I do.
The fact, however, remains that prison conditions in the USA are poorer than those of Western European countries and the sentences harsher. The only (European) country among the ones you mention that might have prison conditions worse or similar to those in the USA is Greece (BTW I've lived in Greece for five years and although I remember prison riots - a clear sign of poor prison conditions - I don't recall stories of murders and gang rapes in jail).
I assure you that torture (even "mild" forms thereof) is strictly prohibited in all member countries of the Council of Europe. I'm sure it happens in certain places (just as in the USA - remember Rodney King?) - but it's certainly not Government policy.
As for "hands on experience": no, I haven't been to jail, here or anywhere else - and I haven't been executed either ... yet I know that the US executes more people than any other country in the world (with the possible exception of completely barbaric nations like Iran and Saudi Arabia plus, of course, China - who seem to use capital punishment as a means of population control ...). Are you saying that only those who have been executed are qualified to have an opinion on capital punishment?
So, I often have to rely on the media. If, however, a wide range of media (newspapers, TV, left-wing, right-wing) from a number of different countries concur I tend to believe them.
Both CNN, the BBC, French and German national TV that I regularly watch as well as a range of British, French, Danish and Swedish newspapers that I regularly read concur that there's a war going on in Afghanistan at the moment, so - call me gullible - I believe it although I've never even been in Afghanistan (who knows, perhaps Afghanistan doesn't even exist ...). Those same media also concur that US prisons are pure hell. Why shouldn't I believe them? Why should I believe you? Because you say that you know one of the best snipers in the world?
I don't believe everything the media say - but categorically rejecting everything the media say is just as uncritical!
Drive carefully,
Caspar
posted by 194.235.1...
, Mon, 29 Oct 2001 23:43:34
, Wed, 31 Oct 2001 22:12:23
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