This is a similar question to “Does the fact that the US provided chemical weapons to Saddam Hussein qualify the United States to lecture other people about their ownership and use of the same type of weapons.”
There appears to be evidence that the CIA has gotten out of control and has been doing things we used to disapprove of in brutal Latin American military regimes. There is apparently a 3000 page report that sets out the details of CIA involvement in torture. It is in the hands of the Senate Select Committee on Security. I am not party to this document and no one has seen a short, bedside version of it, (surprise, surprise!) because none has been authorized. However, common sense tells us that if the CIA water-boarded half a dozen people the proof would not need 3000 pages of proof. In other words they have been at it over a long period of time and many people has been tortured. In the land of open government you now have to use guesswork and a crystal ball to work out what your paid employees (civil servants and sub-contractors) are up to.
All this could be met with a resigned sigh but for the hypocrisy of the rah-rah nationalists who claim for the US a higher moral standing than any other nation. Whether they like it or not the agents of the CIA have used disgusting and immoral methods of getting information, and the activities of the medieval, murdering, religious maniacs from waterless deserts should never be an excuse for behaving like the people we beat in the Second World War.
Epicureans are not members of religious sects, nor do we believe in the Easter bunny. We do however believe that if you are going to lecture people about their political and religious beliefs you really do need to be sure that you are whiter than white yourself. Epicureans are sinners (not as sinful as some bishops, but sinful nonetheless), but I happen to believe that the Epicureans I know have, like Epicurus, a strong moral sense and healthy ethics. Epicurus would have condemned torture on both practical and moral grounds, and so do we. I hope that the government employees concerned, as they listen to the sermons in their churches, reflect on the huge damage they have done to America and to the West in general.
If I were water-boarded I would probably spill the beans. “Yes, I exceeded the speed limit for twenty minutes on the I-95 on December 21st. Last year. Now let me go.” (How many water-boarded men actually tell the truth? Don’t they just say the first reasonably believable thing that comes into their heads?). I demand an IQ test for all CIA operatives.
“[Y]ou now have to use guesswork. . . to work out what . . .civil servants and sub-contractors) are up to. . . . I hope that the government employees concerned. . . reflect on the huge damage they have done to America.”
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Epicureans believe in justice. Perhaps if we had a truth commission such as those set up in other countries, we could insist not only that torturers “reflect” on the damage but also be held legally responsible and brought to justice.