Monday, August 31, 2009

Rationalizing Torture Runs in Cheney Family





















Liz Cheney says "Waterboarding isn't torture," but John McCain called it "a very exquisite torture"

McCain on waterboarding: "I believe that it is torture, very exquisite torture"

Shep Smith: "Pol Pot was a big fan of this waterboarding action. Now we get some lawyers around the table and want to pretend like it's not torture."

Hannity misrepresented bipartisan Washington Monthly essay collection, which included these statements:

* Former Rep.Bob Barr (R-GA): "Waterboarding is, in essence, a torturer's best friend-easy, quick, and nonevidentiary. It had always been considered torture by civilized governments such as ours-until, of course, this administration."
* Former Dep. Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Reagan White House chief of staff Ken Duberstein: "Let there be no mistake: waterboarding is torture-and it should never be used by the United States. No less a hero than John McCain will attest to this."
* Then-Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE): During World War II, U.S. interrogators "acquired" valuable "information without resorting to abusive techniques, such as waterboarding, that are considered to be torture."

Right-Wing Extremists Protest Health Care Reform: “We Hate the United States!”