THE end of the Sydney Siege when it came was swift and fatally fiery – an individual manifestly unstable of mind lay dead, as were two others whose lives ended in the chaotic events that brought the siege to a bloody conclusion in the wee hours of a New South Wales Tuesday morning.
Person-of-interest Man Haron Monis was an Iranian émigré who we now know is an individual with what I can only describe as being inflicted with an extreme case of bi-polarism.
With a criminal and disciplinary record akin to a lout unleashed; the comically-named Man – or Monis walked the Sydney streets free despite the law having found him a menace to society.
He after all was convicted of a variety of offences, some of which; were he to still be a resident of Teheran, would see him committed to a mental asylum! Worse, he could have been hung to death by being dangled by lariat from some the branch of a stout fig tree.
Gory he may be, but can there be an analogy more chalk from cheese when comparing this Man from Iran against Dick Cheney who at one point was only a heartbeat away from the position of President of the United States?
Upon greater scrutiny; closer inspection and deeper introspection; perhaps they both have quite a few things in common. United in torture; that’s where they both are kindred spirits.
TORTURE ON CHENEY’S MIND
Cheney baldly described the US Senate Committee report on CIA torture with a dismissive ; “...whole lot of crap.” Tut tut; such language unbecoming of a man close enough to lead the world!
His justification for the use of torture was based on the premise that such methods yield results (proven untrue on several occasions) and; failing which; a case of what-you-do; I (Cheney) will inflict on you too! This eye-for-an-eye; tooth-for-a-tooth tit-for-tat may have biblical resonance but for once Dick, please find it in that box of a human tissue called your heart that charity still is a Godly quality.
The CIA’s methods to glean information from its captives in the so-called war against terrorism relied on torture including the especially heinous method of waterboarding. This is where a suspect is doused with enough water to give the sensation of drowning – I shall not even begin to flesh out the mechanics in its gory detail, so reprehensible is the tactic.
What made it an issue was this widespread use continued despite the lack of success in gleaning information. Where does that leave its perpetrators then if not the derivation of nihilistic pleasure from unfettered act of gratuitous violence under the cover of patriotism and national duty?
What Mon Monis did in the Lindt Chocolate Cafe is after all; torture too.
THE ENDGAME
The response from the Aussie police was swift. They decided to end the siege when shots were heard from inside the cafe. In the event, two hostages as well as Monis were killed – we await to find out who ultimately pulled the trigger.
Events in the Lindt Cafe in Sydney ended just as the siege looked set to drag on into the wee hours of Tuesday. It was around 2 am Sydney time when the NSW police decided it had to act upon hearing sound of shots coming from inside the cafe.
From what little information gleaned in the absence of full disclosure in just over 24 hours after the siege began on Monday morning; the shots could have been discharged by Monis himself. Perhaps fired when one heroic hostage decided to act. So when police responded, there could only be one result. Unfortunately; 2 hostages became casualties.
What Monis did was torture. What Cheney et al did was torture. The route traveled was the same. The end game would play out rather differently for each of them.
I would very much like to think that Cheney is decent enough an individual that he may have lent his support by Liking or Retweeting #ILLRIDEWITHYOU. His reaction notwithstanding, I still think there’s a disturbing meeting of minds between him and his ilk.
They could all be powered with the motivation and drive that contributed to the actions of deranged man in a chocolate cafe in Sydney on Monday.
