Leadership

A century ago, American soldiers in the Phillipines started doing something they called the "water cure," which today we would call "waterboarding." President Teddy Roosevelt responded to news of this going on by sending out a telegram to the commander of the forces in the region:

The president desires to know in the fullest and most circumstantial manner all the facts, ... for the very reason that the president intends to back up the Army in the heartiest fashion in every lawful and legitimate method of doing its work; he also intends to see that the most vigorous care is exercised to detect and prevent any cruelty or brutality and that men who are guilty thereof are punished. Great as the provocation has been in dealing with foes who habitually resort to treachery, murder and torture against our men, nothing can justify or will be held to justify the use of torture or inhuman conduct of any kind on the part of the American Army.

The general in charge of operations in the Phillipines was then court-martialled. The verdict was a censure rather than a conviction for tolerating the torture. Roosevelt then conducted a personal review of the facts of the court-martial, and on his own authority dishonorably discharged the general.

Torture is wrong. Always and under all circumstances. It will never be to our advantage to torture people under our power. TR, who was both an aggressive patriot and a fundamentally decent man, knew this and did what needed to be done to make it real. In so doing, he preserved our national honor.

If we had real leadership in place today, history would be repeating itself.