"If I had water draining into my nose, oh God, I just can't imagine how painful!" McConnell said in the article. "Whether it's torture by anybody else's definition, for me it would be torture."
But he rejected a suggestion that he personally condemned the practice.
What an asshole. What a complete and total hypocrite.
When I trained as part of combat teams I was qualified to carry CA (Pepper) Spray. In order to qualify to use this non-leathal weapon, I was required to get sprayed in the face with it. It hurt, a lot. In fact, I've had to periodically re-qualify three times. It never got any better. It hurt every time. A lot. I don't want to do it again. Here's an idea, in order to wield waterboarding as an interrogation technique, every senior official, from the President on down to the interrogators themselves should have to go through exactly the same thing - no stripped down, easier 'training' process. The whole deal, exactly the way it's administered at Gitmo by the CIA. Just like a face full of mace.
Personally, after reading the interview, I'd love nothing better than to see Mike McConnell strapped to a table and have Lake Erie shoved up his nose.
Attention Presidential Candidates: Here's how you get my vote - convince me that you will not suffer the service of fools, hypocrites, and evil men such as the current Director of Central Intelligence. Better yet, convince me that you will categorically put an end to America's use of torture forever. Hunt down those responsible for attacking Americans and our allies, try them before the world in a fair and open court, and if found guilty lock them away in a deep dark hole or put them against a wall - I don't care - but, convince me that we will do it honorably, and that our country will be led by honorable men and women. If you want my vote, shut up about your religion, shut up about the religion of your fellow candidates, shut up about conservative values, or liberal values, stop blathering on about irrelevant bullshit. Instead speak to me how you will restore America's honor and dignity as a free people. Start with how you'll hold both your self and your appointees responsible for their actions.
Jim, you do know that in 2004 the acting assistant attorney general, Daniel Levin, allowed himself to be waterboarded and concluded that waterboarding could be torture and that the Bush administration had failed to come up with proper guidelines and supervision for when and if the technique could be used.
ReplyDeleteGuess what happened to his career at DOJ?
Eric, yep, I am aware of it. And in fact, Levin actually went through a much abbreviated version of waterboarding - and he had a safe word and knew that nothing terrible could really happen to him - and he still concluded that it was torture. As have those of us who have gone through SERE and/survival school.
ReplyDeleteI say that if this is the course we as a nation have decided to embark on, and the American people continue to elect leaders who endorse torture as a national policy (and thereby indicate their acceptance of the fact that America is a nation that tortures people), then the very least we can do is make our elected leaders go through the same training as those of us they've ordered to perform torture in the first place.
When I was assigned to Valley Forge, the CO was the first through the pepper spray course, not because he was ever likely to end up on a boarding team, but because he was the kind of man who never ordered his men into a situation he wasn't willing to do himself. This is leadership by example, and it is one of the reasons that I respected Valley Forge's Captain more than just about anybody else in the world.
I wonder just how quickly Bush, Cheney, McConnell, et al, would be willing to order torture - if as a prerequisite they were required to undergo the process themselves - and periodically have to requalify. Frankly I don't think Cheney would survive it - I damn sure know he wouldn't have made it through my training.
Ah, Jim. You're so cute. Personal responsibility in an elected official and their minions? Surely you jest.
ReplyDeleteActually, I agree with you (as usual), but I'm getting cynical enough that I don't think anyone will step up.
Not defending McConell, but I'd like to read the interview itself instead of just Reuters take on it. If they've interpreted the interview faithfully, then yeah, scum.
ReplyDeleteThere's part of it where he seems to be saying "Yeah, its torture but I can't say that because then some people might be prosecuted. And the people who gave them orders might be prosecuted, so no."
BTW there's CONTEST RESULTS posted on some other guy's site.