Thursday, July 17, 2008

Ashcroft defends waterboarding before House panel

The controversial interrogation technique of waterboarding has served a "valuable" purpose and does not constitute torture, former Attorney General John Ashcroft told a House committee Thursday.

Testifying on the Bush administration's interrogation rules before the House Judiciary Committee, Ashcroft defended the technique while answering a question from Rep. Howard Coble, R-North Carolina.

"Waterboarding, as we all know, is a controversial issue. Do you think it served a beneficial purpose?" the congressman asked.

"The reports that I have heard, and I have no reason to disbelieve them, indicate that they were very valuable," Ashcroft said, adding that CIA Director George Tenet indicated the "value of the information received from the use of enhanced interrogation techniques -- I don't know whether he was saying waterboarding or not, but assume that he was for a moment -- the value of that information exceeded the value of information that was received from all other sources."

Waterboarding is a technique designed to simulate drowning. The agency has acknowledged using it on terror suspects. ... - cnn


How about telling the damn truth? Waterboarding is not "simulated drowning" it is real suffocation. Ashcroft's assumption is wrong. According to both the FBI and CIA, it results in people lying to stay alive, also known as false confessions. Call it what it is: Torture. Or Smother Bagging.

3 comments:

BrianGriffinLovesYou said...

Open remark to Ashcroft:
If you really don't believe it's torture, come on over & I'll put you through it.

Ed2008 said...

If waterboarding is allowed to be considered an enhanced interrogation technique, according to Ashcroft, and not torture. I wonder how long will it be before other law enforcement organizations include this as an option for criminal suspects or individuals suspected of a crime?

Ann said...

BrianGriffinLovesYou:

Nice comment!