Tuesday's Independent newspaper is running a story titled, US military tells Jack Bauer: Cut out the torture scenes ... or else!. On Monday's episode, in a scene borrowed right from the streets of Iraq, one CTU agent is tortured with a drill by the terrorists.
The US military has appealed to the producers of 24 to tone down the torture scenes because of the impact they are having both on troops in the field and America's reputation abroad. Forget about Abu Ghraib, forget about Guantanamo Bay, forget even that the White House has authorised interrogation techniques that some classify as torture, that damned Jack Bauer is giving us a bad name.
The United States Military Academy at West Point yesterday confirmed that Brigadier General Patrick Finnegan recently travelled to California to meet producers of the show, broadcast on the Fox channel. He told them that promoting illegal behaviour in the series - apparently hugely popular among the US military - was having a damaging effect on young troops.
According to the New Yorker magazine, Gen Finnegan, who teaches a course on the laws of war, said of the producers: "I'd like them to stop. They should do a show where torture backfires... The kids see it and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24'?
FOX demoralizing the young US troops. How ironic.
The torture used on the show 24 is always done in the context of the ticking time bomb theory and is always effective. Alan Dershowitz must be a big fan. The show's hero, Jack Bauer, even tortured his own brother this season. FOX must be proud.
The group's David Danzig said: "I think there is no question [it is having an effect]. We have spoken to soldiers with experience in Iraq who say, for young soldiers, there is a direct relationship between what they are doing in their jobs and what they see on TV... It's the same abroad.
"The image of the US and its military [being involved in torture] is being affirmed."
That knife cuts both ways, doesn't it? If the US military is so concerned about appearances, maybe it should push the Bush administration to outlaw torture all together. Instead, CIA agents have immunity from prosecution and allegations of torture are still coming out of Gitmo. If the young troops are restless over a television show that's giving them a bad reputation, they should aim their angst not only at FOX but also straight at the White House and every single person that voted for the detainee bill and the Republicans.
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