I had retweeted to me this little bit (https://twitter.com/P0TUS/status/544252013773848577), a quotation from George Washington to "the Northern Expeditionary Force":
"Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to injure any [prisoner] … I do most earnestly enjoin you to bring him to such severe and exemplary punishment as the enomity of the cime may require. Should it extend to death itself, it will not be disproportional to its guilt as such a time and in such a cause … for by such conduct they bring shame, disgrace, and ruin to themselves and their country."
The surrounding text noted that Dick Cheney's torture-happy ways were at odds with Washington's directives, and, presumably, Washington trumps Cheney as a True American, so draw your own conclusions.
Alas, the source material isn't quite as conclusive (as much as I would love it to be). The full letter — interestingly, to Col. Benedict Arnold as he was preparing to take troops up into Canada — can be found at https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5hOAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA90 , and it paints a slightly different picture.
The bracketed "[prisoner]" is actually "Canadian or Indian," and the overall tone of the letter is, "Hey, those Canadians aren't the real enemy here, so fergoshsakes don't do anything that torques them off." Washington mentions nothing about what might be done with any British soldiers who are encountered during the invasion to the north.
Indeed, the quote is prematurely cut off (and without elipses): "… and their country, if they should by their conduct turn the hearts of our brethren in Canada against us; and, on the other hand, the honors and rewards, which await them, if by their prudence and good behaviour they conciliate the affections of the Canadians and Indians to the great interests of America, and convert those favorable dispositions they have shown into a lasting union and affection."
I.e., it's not torture or mistreatment of prisoners he's talking about, but how to woo (and not alienate) the Canadians and Indians.
(He also warns the Anglican-Protestant troops not to be obnoxious toward those awful French-Canadian Papists. _"I also give it in charge to you to avoid all disrespect of the religion of the country, and its ceremonies. Prudence, policy, and a true Christian spirit, will lead us to look with compassion upon their errors without insulting them. While we are contending for our own liberty, we should be very cautious not to violate the rights of conscience in others, ever considering that God alone is the judge of the hearts of men, and to him only in this case are they answerable.")_
Not that I think George Washington was a supporter of torture, rendition, waterboarding, or mistreatment of prisoners (uniformed or "unlawful combatants"). Indeed, one could argue that Washington, though not speaking about torture per se, was recognizing the whole concept of winning "hearts and minds" among a hostile populace, something Mr Cheney might have considered. But to use this particular quotation as a cudgel against Mr Cheney's smug assertions that he'd do all that "Enhanced Interrogation" stuff all again just the same way is, unfortunately, a misuse of Washington's words.
Barracks O’Bama on Twitter
“Cheney shames our country. RT @SeanMcElwee Here’s what George Washington would say to Dick Cheney. H/T @RoryBBellows1”
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis.
+Charles Carrigan Thanks. Memes like this are rarely a good source for quotes; this one looked very attractive because it actually had a citation with it, but I mistrust too much use of elipses and [brackets] to not try and look things up in context (being something of a quotations wonk).
I do like the religious piece from the letter, though, and will probably add that to http://wist.info in the future.
How can you say that Washington trumps Cheney as a True American when he suggests respecting the religions of other countries? That's totally un-American. America über alles!
/sarcasm off
Catholics were pretty much the "Muslims" of the world, as far as Protestant Europe and America thought, until relatively recently..