Blogging Blue » Waterboarding

Former President Bush warned to keep book tour domestic

Zach W — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 04:18:36 +0000

In an op-ed piece in The Telegraph, Boris Johnson, the mayor of London, warned former U.S. President George W. Bush, who has openly admitted to authorizing torture, to keep his book tour on this side of the Atlantic:

It is not yet clear whether George W Bush is planning to cross the Atlantic to flog us his memoirs, but if I were his PR people I would urge caution. As book tours go, this one would be an absolute corker. It is not just that every European capital would be brought to a standstill, as book-signings turned into anti-war riots. The real trouble — from the Bush point of view — is that he might never see Texas again.

One moment he might be holding forth to a great perspiring tent at Hay-on-Wye. The next moment, click, some embarrassed member of the Welsh constabulary could walk on stage, place some handcuffs on the former leader of the Free World, and take him away to be charged. Of course, we are told this scenario is unlikely. Dubya is the former leader of a friendly power, with whom this country is determined to have good relations. But that is what torture-authorising Augusto Pinochet thought. And unlike Pinochet, Mr Bush is making no bones about what he has done.

Unless the 43rd president of the United States has been grievously misrepresented, he has admitted to authorising and sponsoring the use of torture. Asked whether he approved of “waterboarding” in three specific cases, he told his interviewer that “damn right” he did, and that this practice had saved lives in America and Britain. It is hard to overstate the enormity of this admission.

Soldier accused of waterboarding his four year-old daughter

Zach W — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 12:02:06 +0000

Joshua Tabor, a U.S. soldier at the Lewis-McChord base in Tacoma, Washington has been arrested and charged with assault after he admitted to police to having waterboarded his four year-old daughter because she was unable to recite the alphabet. Tabor admitted to police he had used the CIA torture technique because he was angry at his daughter, and as his daughter ‘squirmed’ to get away, Tabor said he submerged her face three or four times until the water was lapping around her forehead and jawline. As if that’s not awful enough, Tabor allegedly admitted choosing the punishment because his daughter was terrified of water.

Tabor won custody of his daughter only four weeks ago, and hopefully he won’t have custody of her for much longer, because he clearly isn’t ready to be a parent.

Mancow gets waterboarded, agrees it’s torture

Zach W — Sat, 23 May 2009 13:43:09 +0000

Watch Chicago radio personality Eric “Mancow” Muller get waterboarded:

Now keep in mind Mancow has previously said on his show that he didn’t believe waterboarding was torture. It’s funny how one’s opinion changes once they’ve experienced waterboarding.

H/T to James Rowen.

Feingold: “So-called enhanced interrogation illegal”

Zach W — Thu, 14 May 2009 00:40:41 +0000

For weeks, former Vice President Dick Cheney has been making the rounds on television to defend the Bush administration’s torture program, and during his media blitz, Cheney has been citing two CIA memos as proof that torture works as a method of obtaining intelligence.

However, during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing today, Sen. Russ Feingold of Wisconsin made it clear he believes nothing in the memos cited by Cheney suggests torture was the most effective way to gain intelligence from detainees:

“Nothing I have seen – including the two documents to which former Vice President Cheney has repeatedly referred – indicates that the torture techniques authorized by the last administration were necessary, or that they were the best way to get information out of detainees. The former vice president is misleading the American people when he says otherwise.”

Here’s the video of Sen. Feingold’s remarks in the Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing today:

Sen. Feingold has long been an opponent of our nation’s use of torture against detainees, writing the following in a letter to former President George Bush on October 15, 2007:

“…I have vigorously opposed the program, and continue to do so. The program is of highly questionable legality, it is inconsistent with our values as a nation, and it does not make our nation any safer. In fact, I believe that it may have the effect of exposing Americans – including military and other U.S. personnel – to greater risk.”

Sen. Feingold’s letter from 2007 underscores what should be every American’s fear about our nation’s use of torture against detainees: the grim possibility our military forces – or worse yet, our civilians – may become the victims of torture by enemies who will justify their actions by pointing to our nation’s actions towards our detainees. Our nation shouldn’t sink to the level of nations that utilize torture, nations like North Korea, Saudi Arabia, China, and Myanmar, because we’re better than that.

Is waterboarding torture? You decide.

Zach W — Wed, 13 May 2009 05:44:35 +0000

I’ve spent a little time here on Blogging Blue talking about waterboarding, and I’ve made it clear I believe waterboarding is torture. I’ve read the argument that waterboarding can’t be torture since it’s used to train American military forces in SERE training, and I’ve also read the argument that waterboarding isn’t torture because it’s “a technique that is so common and accepted,” but I still haven’t changed my mind, and here’s why:

Water boarding was designated as illegal by U.S. generals in Vietnam 40 years ago. A photograph that appeared in The Washington Post of a U.S. soldier involved in water boarding a North Vietnamese prisoner in 1968 led to that soldier’s severe punishment.

“The soldier who participated in water torture in January 1968 was court-martialed within one month after the photos appeared in The Washington Post, and he was drummed out of the Army,” recounted Darius Rejali, a political science professor at Reed College.

So here’s three facts:

Our military prosecuted several Japanese soldiers after World War II for using waterboarding against American and Allied troops.
As recently as the Vietname War, our military has court-martialed its own soldiers who have engaged in waterboarding against our enemies.
Army Field Manual 2-22.3, issued in 2006, explicitly prohibits the use of “waterboarding” as a prohibited action during intelligence interrogations.

Given those two incontrovertible facts, I’d like to hear someone explain how waterboarding was illegal in the past, but has now become perfectly legal as a method of “interrogation” by U.S. intelligence agencies.

Remember, Article 1 of the Geneva Convention Against Torture defines torture as, “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity.”

That’s a rather wordy definition, but keep it in mind as you watch this video of waterboarding being performed (the actual waterboarding starts at 2:50 into the video):

So here’s my questions: how can any reasonable person think waterboarding as a means of interrogation isn’t meant to inflict severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, on the subject of the waterboarding? What’s more, how can waterboarding be considered a prohibited interrogation technique by the United States Army, while on the other hand being perfectly legal as an interrogation technique for intelligence agencies?

Waterboarding for Walker

Zach W — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 03:34:37 +0000

From the first post at Heartland Hollar comes a novel fundraising idea for Scott Walker’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign, which kicked off this week:

s you may know, Scott Walker is “officially” believing in himself as governor again (or did he ever stop) and he is going to need a lot of charity from people to survive his bloody primary against Mark Neumann.

Now it’s one thing for Milwaukee’s very own blowhard, Charlie Sykes, to post Walker e-mails on his blog and provide free radio airtime defending Walker’s disastrous record and failed ideas, but it’s quite another to show real support for Walker and the right-wing talking points.

That’s why in our inaugural post at Heartland Hollar we would like to ask that you join our “Waterboarding for Walker” campaign.

Our first task is to have you pledge support for Sykes to follow Hannity’s lead and agree to undergo waterboarding for charity- in this case, Walker’s campaign for governor.

We can think of no better way for Charlie to use his Sunday Insight TV show to “stand up for what’s right” and once and for all prove to everyone that waterboarding is not torture.

Remember, in 2006 Walker had to drop out of his primary run against Mark Green because of a lack of funding. And recently, GOP king moneybags, Jim Klauser put out the word that Neumann, not Walker, was his guy.

Walker is going to need all the help he can get from like minded wing nuts who are longing for the Bush Cheney days. It’s time to “Believe in waterboarding again.”

So help us today and send Charlie an e-mail telling him you are pledging your support to the “Waterboarding for Walker” campaign.

Tell’m Heartland Hollar sent ya. It’s time for Charlie to put his mouth where the money is

‘Nuff said

Zach W — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 11:46:18 +0000

Just a warning that this is definitely not safe for work due to language…

H/T to Emily Mills over at The Lost Albatross.

Reagan opposed torture

Zach W — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 19:22:11 +0000

Ronald Reagan, an idol to many conservatives, was opposed to torture. In fact, here’s what he said in his signing statement ratifying the UN Convention on Torture from 1984 (emphasis mine):

“The United States participated actively and effectively in the negotiation of the Convention . It marks a significant step in the development during this century of international measures against torture and other inhuman treatment or punishment. Ratification of the Convention by the United States will clearly express United States opposition to torture, an abhorrent practice unfortunately still prevalent in the world today.

The core provisions of the Convention establish a regime for international cooperation in the criminal prosecution of torturers relying on so-called ‘universal jurisdiction.’ Each State Party is required either to prosecute torturers who are found in its territory or to extradite them to other countries for prosecution.”

That’s a pretty unambiguous statement.

Now I know many conservatives will say waterboarding isn’t torture, so let’s take a look at what waterboarding is and how the United Nations Convention Against Torture defines torture. Waterboarding is a technique that induces panic and suffering by forcing a person to inhale water into the sinuses, pharynx, larynx, and trachea. Now here’s the definition of torture, as defined by the UN Convention Against Torture (emphasis mine):

The term “torture” means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession

So let’s recap…waterboarding is a technique that induces panic and suffering in recipients, and the UN Convention Against Torture defines torture as any act in which pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is inflicted on a person. It seems pretty unambiguous to me that waterboarding is torture, and as such is illegal.

H/T to Victor Ponelis of Lake Country Liberal.

Feingold calls for torture investigations

Zach W — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 20:55:55 +0000

It’s no secret I’m a fan of U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, and among the reasons I’m a fan of his is his staunch opposition to the use of toture by the United States, as well as his desire for an investigation into Bush-era torture practices:

“Part of what troubles me are the lawyers — we should see their law school degrees — who consciously wrote these memos justifying and explaining full well those outrageous arguments,” the Wisconsin Democrat said on Tuesday in reference to the Bush-era torture memos released last week. “I cannot join the president, or his spokesman, or [chief of staff] Rahm Emanuel, who said we aren’t going [to prosecute these people]. I can’t. I just disagree with them.”

As a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a long-time critic of torture, Sen. Feingold believes investigations and possible prosecutions are a key tool to restoring America’s moral standing:

“It is truly horrifying and unforgivable that anybody operating under the auspices of the United States of America had involvement in any of this,” he said. “So I’m not even completely ready to [cede the argument] that people who devised these techniques should be off the hook. I understand the argument. I also remember when people said that they were just following orders. So that troubles me and I am thinking about it.”

I’ve heard the argument by some who utilized torture as a means of interrogation that they were “just following orders,” but that’s not an excuse I haven’t heard before.

No matter how individuals who support the use of torture as a means of interrogation try to rationalize or explain their positions, the fact remains that our country is better than that. In resorting to the use of torture to interrogate detainees, our country ceded the moral high ground on the issue and joined the likes of noted bastions of human rights such as North Korea, Pakistan, Egypt, and China in an exclusive group of countries that condone and use torture.

It’s not a revelation, but it’s nice to hear

Zach W — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:16:40 +0000

Under questioning from Senator Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, attorney general nominee Eric Holder clearly stated waterboarding is torture:

“I agree with you, Mr. Chairman, waterboarding is torture,” Holder said in what amounts to a dramatic reversal of the Justice Department’s policy under President Bush.

Seems pretty common sense, doesn’t it?