Does she fufill your expectations?

I believe we help to redeem each other through the power of acceptance. It
is powerful to those who receive it and more powerful to those who give
it.

What type of person does this quote make you envision? A Pastor or priest? A philosopher or a Civil Rights protestor? A liberal or a conservative?

I dont know exactly what type of person this quote makes you think of, whether a secualr humanist or a christian fundamentalist. I am, however willing to bet that none of you, based on this quote, would have guessed what this woman really is; an interrogator at Guantanamo naval base in Cuba.

Are you surprised? Then perhaps, you should re-examine your own prejudices. We are all aware of the popular representations of Guantanamo interrogators, (or should I say sterotypes?) The hard nosed millitary man who will do whatever it takes, the crazed Christian fundamentalist who's a dead ringer for torqemada, the jingoistic racist, nativist white male who hates brown people. But do those caricatures even remotely resemble the woman seen in this article, or heard on this clip?

What about this quote?

My job was to obtain information that would help keep U.S. soldiers safe. We'd
meet, play dominoes, I'd bring chocolate and we'd talk a lot. There was one
detainee, Mustafa, who joked that I was his favorite interrogator in the world,
and I joked back that he was my favorite terrorist — and he was. He'd committed
murders and did things we all wished he could take back. He asked me one day,
suddenly serious, "You know everything about me, but still you do not hate me.
Why?"
His question stopped me cold. I said "Everyone has done things in
their past that they're not proud of. I know I have, but I also know God still
expects me to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love
my neighbor as myself. That means you."
Mustafa started to cry. "That's what
my God says, too," he said.

Does this sound like an exchange thats in line with your beliefs about waterboarding, torture, and government sanctioned evil? Is this the evil caricature you expected?

I dont know whether this authors story is true, in whole or in part. I dont know whether it was embellished to make her look good, toned down to make her seem less compassionate, or completely fabricated to serve a politcal agenda. What I do know, is that this isn't an article wirtten by a caricature, its an article written by a woman who has seen and done things the rest of us are lucky enough to never have to consider. A woman who has "been there" as they say, and has the nightmares to prove it. Whether she used "soft" interrogation techniques, or hooked car batteries up to Mustafa's genitals I can not say, but she doesnt strike me as a twisted theocratic inquisitioner. I could be wrong, I could be right. What I do know is, she doesn't conform to anyones sterotypes, and she challenges all of our preconceptions. As far as Im concerned, thats a good thing.