Sunday, July 22, 2007

Is everybody happy NOW?

Huffington Post reports on an interview with US National Intelligence Director Mitch McConnell talking about the CIA's interrogation techniques and the President's executive order:
The executive order bans torture, cruel and inhumane treatment, sexual abuse, acts intended to denigrate a religion or other degradation "beyond the bounds of human decency." It pledges that detainees will receive adequate food, water and medical care and be protected from extreme heat and cold.
It does not, however, say what techniques are permitted during harsh questioning of suspects . . .
When asked if the permissible techniques would be troubling to the American people if the enemy used them against a U.S. citizen, McConnell said: "I would not want a U.S. citizen to go through the process. But it is not torture, and there would be no permanent damage to that citizen."
Bush's order is intended in part to quell international criticism of some of the CIA's most debated work.
Yeah, I'm sure that'll do it alright.
The international community will be just so supportive of interrogation techniques which are too brutal to be used on US citizens. At least no one is losing an eye anymore, I guess.
Or maybe we're only supposed to THINK that the US is torturing people, but really they're not:
The order specifically refers to captured al-Qaida suspects who may have information on attack plans or the whereabouts of the group's senior leaders.
"Because they believe these techniques might involve torture and they don't understand them, they tend to speak to us ... in a very candid way," McConnell said.
I guess someone waving a soldering iron in your face could be one of those 'misunderstood techniques'.
Maybe Jack Bauer should try that.

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