Words matter

Which is why I agree so thoroughly with what Jay Nordlinger has to say here:

I often read about political prisoners in such places as China and Cuba. Now and then, I meet former prisoners. And then I read about what the U.S. government has done to certain detainees. And the same word, “torture,” cannot be applied to both situations. Given the differences between what the Chinese and Cubans do, and what the U.S. government does, there must be two words, at least.

And that is quite apart from the differences between the types in captivity: on one hand, democrats, dissenters, human-rights advocates; on the other hand, terrorists.

And that is to say nothing about the reasons for what is meted out to these captives: on one hand, torture to punish, to degrade, and to prevent further democratic activity — not to mention the sheer pleasure derived by the torturers; on the other hand, “enhanced interrogation” in order to elicit information to prevent the further murder of innocents.