support the idea of torture

* AP:

"In a survey of U.S. troops in combat in Iraq, less than half of Marines and a little more than half of Army soldiers said they would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian.

More than 40 percent support the idea of torture in some cases, and 10 percent reported personally abusing Iraqi civilians, the Pentagon said Friday in what it called its first ethics study of troops at the war front. Units exposed to the most combat were chosen for the study, officials said."

* digby:

"But even with all that, 40% of the military believing that torture is acceptable is more than alarming, particularly in an elective occupation like Iraq. This is the mightiest military on earth we are talking about, not some fourth rate militia that doesn't understand that even aside from moral considerations, torture is not worth the price in bad information, wasted time and the dehumanization of those who perpetrate it. (Of course, those in our government who use "24" as their moral and tactical guideline might disagree.)'

* kleiman:

"4. I'm not surprised that 30-40% approve of torture under some circumstances; after all, that means the average grunt has better morals than the average Senator or the average Bush crony, and the folks in the field are under a lot more pressure.

5. I'm not surprised that only half of them say they would report theft or assault by a comrade; that means the average grunt has better ethics than the average Congressman or the average cop."

* Brad on Blinky's 28% approval ratings:

"One wonders what Bush's approval rating would have been by now if we didn't have the conservative-run media that we have now. Had Bush faced the same media that Jimmy Carter did, it seems unlikely he'd have have double digits by now...much less still be in office."

* tristero:

"It blows my mind to think 28 percent of this country still thinks God's Joke From Texas is doing a fine job. Ok, ok, I know it's not entirely scientifically kosher, but that sort of means you go walking down a street - or go to a mall - and more than 1 out of every 4 people you pass is completely insane.

Now, let's say you live on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, where it's a safe bet that there are no more than 3 or 4 Bush supporters on a given block holding, I dunno. about 2500 people, perhaps. Y'know what that means, right? That means that somewhere in this strange country of ours there are entire neighborhoods that still think Bush is great.

The mind boggles."