Good Question, Wrong Answer Ashcroft

War on Terror

Former Attorney General John Ashcroft testified before Congress on Torture, specifically the Waterboarding that has everyone up in arms, and some simply dumb founded. In a question and answer session, the former AG said that in his opinion, Waterboarding was NOT torture. He went so far as to say that it was a valuable Interrogation technique, that proved to be highly successful.   UH, but did he?

“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.” (source - CNN News)

If you read what he said, he never said WATERBOARDING was the tactic used that got them the valuable information. In fact he said,  “assume” which really is just so much bullshit. What I take from the statement, is that various tactics used on these prisoners brought about significant results. It does not clearly state whether it was one or several, nor does it even mean that Waterboarding was one of them.

Then there is the question asked if would consider Waterboarding torture if it was used on an American Soldier. His response, to say the least, didn’t provide any answer at all.

Waters asked Ashcroft whether such techniques would be regarded as “totally unacceptable and even criminal” if they were used on American soldiers.

“Well, my subscription to these memos, and my belief that the law provides the basis for these memos persisted even in the presence of my son serving two tours of duty overseas in the Gulf area as a member of our armed forces,” Ashcroft said. (source - CNN News)

Now while his son may have been serving in the Gulf, while he wrote memos stating that legally, waterboarding wasn’t torture, it really doesn’t answer the question. It implies that he would accept such actions by another nation against US Soldiers, but I think we all know that is just UTTER BULLSHIT.

And perhaps the Congress should be asking the Viet Nam Vets about Torture, specially those who were guests at the Hanoi Hilton, as the prison camp was called. People like John McCain perhaps? I think they could give a pretty good consensus on what is, and what isn’t torture.

However, maybe there is another way for Congress, George Bush, to find out if the legal opinion of John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales is correct.  Have them all EXPERIENCE WATERBOARDING FIRST HAND.

Somehow I think you would find Waterboarding would no longer be considered legal.

Ian @ July 19, 2008