Torture: Which Would You Prefer: Naked Twister or Having Your Head Sawed Off?

Torture, as described in the dictionary is extreme anguish of body or mind; agony.

In 2005, Richard J. Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, compared the U.S. military's treatment of al Qaeda terrorists at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay with the regimes of Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin and Pol Pot - three of history's most villainous dictators whose regimes killed millions. Not only did Durbin give aid and comfort to the enemy but he wasn't rebuked for his comments and they were barely mentioned in the MSM.

I have my own ideas about torture but forcing terrorists to listen to Christina Aguilera and rap music aren't among them, and if given the choice, I would rather wear panties on my head and play twister with my fellow detainees than endure what Nicholas Berg went through.

Tell me; is torture as described by Richard Durbin comparable to the starvation and gassing of the Jews in Nazi Germany?

World War II and Vietnam POW's would have loved to be treated like the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib (where no one died); Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib would have been rest & relaxation compared to the bona fide horrors they endured. The fact is, Durbin, and those like him, don't know what real torture is; they are so blinded by bias that they show little concern when any of our brave soldiers are captured. Instead, they would rather complain about the treatment of dangerous terrorists whose sole motive in life is to kill all "infidels", including the ones who want to coddle them.

Furthermore, with all the whining about terrorists living in relative comfort and safety, one wonders if terrorists have more rights than members of the military. Men and women in the military spend months in tents; they sleep on the ground in rain, snow, mud and cold; they seldom have a shower; they shave with cold water, and they eat out of mess kits while terrorists in custody receive warm showers, time to exercise, round the clock medical & psychiatric care, Korans, time to pray, broadcasts of the 5 daily calls to prayer, custom made food and access to legal aid. I almost forgot - they are also provided with a specially designed washbasin so they can wash their feet before prayers; such a sensitive touch, don't you think?

If such conditions, as described above, are okay for men and women in the military, with no outcry of barbarity or abuse, why are superior conditions for terrorists not okay?

The United States treats detainees much better than what is required by law. Legally, we could shoot anyone who was caught performing sabotage against United States forces; the United States has bent over backwards to treat terrorists in a manner that they would deny to any one of us.

When a member of our military (or a civilian) is abducted, what kind of treatment are they the recipients of?

To give you an idea, picture the many civilians captured in Iraq who were abducted and beheaded on camera. There were also the horrific images of two U.S. soldiers; PFC Thomas Tucker and PFC Kristian Menchaca who were taken captive, tortured, dismembered, and displayed on camera while their bodies were desecrated.

Where were the accusations of torture? Where was the non-stop media coverage? More importantly, what happened to the Geneva Convention? Sadly, there was no outrage from the media, International Red Cross, United Nations or U.S. intellectuals. Why? Because the victims were American servicemen, not Muslim terrorists.

There was another story that was barely mentioned in the news: In 2002, 32-year-old Navy SEAL, Neil Roberts, was dragged off by three Taliban fighters and shot to death. When this SEAL was captured, did he not become a prisoner of war? If so, where did his rights under the Geneva Convention come into play? Why was he not taken from the battlefield to a place of detention and held out of harm's way, given medical attention, and then provided with acceptable accommodations afforded him under the Geneva Convention?

Where were the protests?

Where are the objections when terrorists saw the heads off screaming civilians? Are such cold blooded killers ever condemned? It appears only American soldiers are and it seems like you have to commit genuine atrocities to gain the defense of certain politicians and intellectuals.

The fact is, terrorists call for the killing of all Americans, even the ones who defend them. They deliberately target their own people; they massacre on a regular basis; they beat, rape and murder women for real or imagined crimes against their "honor"; they blow up children in the streets and they bulldoze fathers, mothers and their babies into mass graves.

And yet, some people decry humiliation or mere imprisonment as torture while turning a blind eye to genuine suffering and the ultimate eradication of human life.