Torture

Dear Friends,

International and domestic law contain absolute bans on torture.  Any civilized and moral society must ban all torture - no exceptions.

United States law defines torture as follows:

(1) “torture” means an act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control;(2) “severe mental pain or suffering” means the prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from—(A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;
(B) the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality;
(C) the threat of imminent death; or
(D) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality;

There can be no doubt under this definition that waterboarding and other enhanced interrogation techniques used by the United States are torture.

Under International law, it is clear that the "just following orders" defense is invalid.  That rule was clearly established in the Nuremberg trials.

Vice President Cheney has admitted that he either ordered or condoned waterboarding and is therefore guilty of violating United States and International law and should be prosecuted along with all the others that condoned torture, ordered torture and carried out torture.

Failure to prosecute and hold torturers accountable for their action will reduce the moral authority of the United States, put us in the category of regimes that torture and be a clear signal to future Presidents and CIA Directors that torture is ok and will not be punished.

CIA Director John Brennan in his speech yesterday defending the CIA when questioned about the future indicated that the future use of torture is left to policy makers.  He was very clear that the CIA will carry out torture if directed to do so by the policy makers.  President Obama should immediately remove him from his position, clearly repudiate torture and prosecute all who ordered, condoned and engaged in torture.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal