Bond: Released Torture Memos Will Provide ‘Propaganda for Al Qaeda’s Media Machine’

I am glad that they were released. Now everything is out there and there isn’t anything hidden.
Now it’s time to move forward.
The bottom line is if the Bush administration didn’t want any of this out there they should never have tortured in the first place.

Yea, Yea, Yea We heard all this before. Not the torture it self but release of the information. Yep we can torture all we want, just don’t say anything. How absurd everyone knows it happened it is no secret.

Senator Bond should have thought of that before he rubberstamped the Bush administration’s actions. The memo release only confirms what our enemies, and many friends, have been claiming all along. Revealing and repudiating the Bush tactics is the only way to regain our status in human rights; well, it would help if we, instead of Spain, were to prosecute the leadership involved in authorizing torture.

The short answer is yes, they will.
The list of our collective enemies (which grew under bush) look for any leverage they can utilize.
The existence of these memos and subsequent torture they supported did and will continue to put our great troops in more than harms way, it will expose them to the very same techniques at the least.

What was the purpose of releasing this info when it was already pretty much public knowledge. I think it is politically motivated just to make the Bush Administration look bad–another case of Bush bashing. He is no longer in office, so why can’t the Obama Administration concentrate on what is wrong with America and get to work to fix the problems.

Perhaps we should send them to bed without dinner or maybe take away TV privliges. I think if anyone is so worried about the suspected terrorists well being I’ll pay the terrorists way so he can live with you in your community and takers in the ACLU. To the torturers…keep up the good work….keep my kids safe……

Nothing that Orwell wrote can come close to the mind-bending self-justification offered by the Republicans.
Sen. Bond, Americans are proud of their country and would like to believe that we are a better nation than is suggested by your inclination to justify torture and to hide the truth.

You can feel sorry for these criminals all you want, they got what they deserved and in my opinion, much less than they deserved. In the future, to avoid all of you terrorist loving liberals, we’ll aim better and make sure we take less prisoners.

I can’t believe that we are concerned about how terrorist were treated by the U.S. What about all the Americans killed by the terrorist? It would be great if you could ask them if they think this is torture! Give me a break!
I am so sick of the bleeding hearts who think that being nice will convince militants to change their ways. Bush kept us safe didn’t he? Now look who Obama has chosen to lead the government.
Do I feel safe now? NO WAY!!

We shouldn’t torture. We should just kill everyone on the battle field. Samurai style.
I take that back. That would still require use of our troops. We should just use tactical nukes from drones controlled by teenagers in Virginia. Terrorism would stop if we eliminated a city for every terrorist attack.

We will no longer be watching ABC news. Your coverage has turned so biased and disrespectful.
You are no longer reporters who contribute to the discourse. You are now merely stenographer repeated what the elite tell you to say. You are out of touch with real America.
If what the CIA did ‘stretched’ the law but did not break it, why stir up the pot, and give our enemies details they didn’t need.

i can’t believe we have people who call themselves PATRIOTIC AMERICANS who make excuses for TORTURE…

If Gitmo was really so bad, then why did Michael Moore go there to prove that the Detainees got better Healthcare than most Americans (if you can really believe Mr Moore ???)???

can i post a comment with facts?

What you call “torture” has kept you safe since 9/11. These are TERRORISTS and you worry about them feeling victimized. The fact of the matter is they would gut you just for the fun of it. Some of you get on here and whine about terrorists being “tortured” — but I bet if it were your loved ones who were killed simply for being an American citizen you might feel less sympathy.

what a bunch of fake patriots… first cheney and bush deny we torture, now we know (some of us knew ages ago) that they lied… and then there are those that defend their lies and illegal behavior

What a bunch of bleeding heart liberal BS!!! This is the same kind of garbage that is keeping our prisons full. “Oh we should just ask him for the information, I’m sure he’d tell you the truth”. Oh he/did didn’t mean to point that loaded gun at that persons head. He didn’t mean to take a knife and shove into the soter clerks beating heart. YOu people make me sick. It’s just like the movie “A Few good Men”. You need me on that wall to protect your miserable a$$ and this is the reply for protecting you? US Military, it’s just about time we stop protecting these morons and let them fend for themselves. Use any methods available to get information but just don’t leak it to the media cuz they’re all in the left tank. How many lives…US Military lives…were saved from these tactics and methods? Who knows but I’d rather waterboard someone and get a little info that but a brother,sister, son, daughter in the ground. Obamamamamania, what a bunch of crap!

Bottom line – if it would give AlQueda help and fodder for us to be torturers, WE SHOULDN’T HAVE DONE IT! Torture doesn’t make anyone safer – it gets us false information, hurts the innocent and guilty alike, makes us as bad as them, give Al Queda propaganda points. It’s not the release of the truth that is the problem – that is the solution – for us to say we knew it was wrong enough for us to confess and admit it – not hide it so we can continue. To tell those who would assist terrorists, those who might become terrorists that America is who it claims to be, does indeed try to live up to those ideals of freedom, compassion, decency – that is what will destroy Al Queda. Not us becoming the same as they are.

fake patriots and fake Christians support torture and the liars who deny we did it…

torture gets people to say whatever you want them to say… no good information was ever had by torturing people… you people are so afaid that you will torture people to get them to lie to you so you can keep them locked up for years with no trial?… the real torture i have experienced is the past 8 years… thank GOD we have a man of ethics, intelligence, grace, and dignity in the white house… and thank GOD the overwhelming majority of americans support him

The Islamic law calls for an eye for an eye. So I, respectfully knowing how they have treated our guys , will treat them the same way. No double standards here.If they chop one of our guys I chop one of theirs.It’s the law, their law and they should not complain.Now let’s be serious, does anyone of you naive citizens ,believe that we are not going to use any means available to get information out to prevent attacks ??
Get off the kool aid people. Don’t believe the liberal propaganda> We will continue to waterboard..AMEN

want to know something funny? you can’t type the name of the previous VP of the USA on this blog or you get deleted!! try it!! try to type “d i c k cheney” but without the spaces… lmao!

http://www.springfield.k12.il.us/schools/springfield/eliz/Torturepun.html
You don’t know what torture is… drawn and quartered… pillory… and I am being nice to you lefties who can’t imagine what real torture is… don’t make me describe some more real torture.

http://www.anvari.org/cols/Ancient_Torture_Tools.html
If you dare look… wanna see some real torture tools? Go ahead… you have Barry’s permission. I checked first.
What is that big old nasty looking cone? Oh a seat? Hmmmm bet you barebacks will love this one! LOL!

Translation: white boy embarrassed that the secrets out

Have a trial and convict one of these guys for terrorism and turture that person all you want for info. But these are suspects. The key word is suspect. Torturing people before found guilty is wrong and innocent people may be tortured also. The Republicans, some anyway live in the dark ages. They basically want a military run country and are willing to go to war or bomb anyone at the drop of a hat. Most claim to be Christian also. They wrap Muslims up in one lump as they do any other religion or race. How would you feel if you were totured or held responsible for the thousands of innocent people that died at Christians hands because they were thought to be witches or devil worshipers. Is that what your loving and forgiving Lord would approve of. How about treating others as you would want to be treated? Oh yea you dont use bible teachings that do not fit your own predudice or agenda.
hifiman1 7:48 PM

Go and read about the Union prison in Chicago, which Lincoln was aware of and the terrible torture that was inflicted on southern soldiers. The south was also guilty. Americans have their heads in the sand. You deal with people who want to kill you and yours as harshly as needed. From my standpoint the torture of a gang of terrorists does not fall under any treaty we signed with any other country. As you can take being a conservative to far but it also applies to being an extreme liberal.

shotgun – it doesnt matter how YOU define terrorist… the word is defined by our own government and the rest of the world.. agreed upon human behavior as right and wrong… just because you personally feel the treatment of other human beings (done in private, secretly, and lied about no less) by the honorable (supposedly) goverment of the USA is OK with you, that doesnt make it right (THANK GOD!) … and i bet you consideryourself a ‘christian’ too?

“Translation: white boy embarrassed that the secrets out”
 above comment from a ‘peanut gallery punk’ and a “Racist” (with a pea sized brain obviously).
Now I could make a comment about a black guy being embarrassed about not having enough ‘Intellectual Circuitry’ to have a secret (now watch how quick this post gets censored even though the above comment stayed until this one, and may stay longer – showing the Bias on this forum).
(now why didn’t a liberal make this point – since they consider themselves so non-racist. They just ALL remained quite like they did with Michael Moore’s comment)

Accountability is what this is. Al Qaeda doesn’t have any accountability. We do.
That’s just one of the things that makes us different than al Qaeda.
Those people who don’t understand this are the ones we need to watch.

Our country is getting weaker and weaker by the day thanks to those that believe the USA is the root cause of all the worlds problems. What’s next? Miranda rights for Somali pirates?

glad i give money to the ACLU… and believe it or not, the ACLU defends white racists right to be prejudice…not to be hurtful to others, but in this country, there is no law against being a jerk (as is apparent by the fundamentalists posts on this blog!) LOL

[[All this assuming that Liberals actually have Intellectual Circuitry. If they do have Intellectual Circuitry then they would just shuffle their feet and look the other way till the ‘Logic had passed’ and then make some excuse {proving why they are losers}; or maybe the real proof of their ‘loser-hood’ would be that it would all just fly ‘right over their heard’ as their Emotions took control]]
Posted by: Mr Reality
*************************************************
Sorry for your lack for reality, but it’s the
repubicans who are continually showing
lame excuse after excuse for their existence.
They have no leader, are following a spinning
agenda and are basically flat with response.
You know your in trouble when you have an
overweight humpty dumpty limbaugh as a
mentor

Hey G… how much money did you give huh? come tell us G… :) your allowance last week? Te he!

Question: Then why is Obama moving “detainees” or more accurately referred to as “suspects without any charges” from overseas torture camps to US (as in United States) military bases!!! Even if you believed these men were a danger why bring them home where they can escape and directly attack the US?
If nothing else, charge them with a crime in 90 days or release them, preferably without torturing them in a foreign OR US military base and MOVE ON!!! Otherwise you are creating terrorists by imprisioning innocent people, torturing them and releasing them, so they can exact revenge and give you an excuse to STAY in Iraq, Afghanistan,Pakistan, etc… etc…
This is “Change”, NO this is a JOKE!!! Creating a pretext to stay in the Middle east is NOT what Obama was elected for, he was elected to END the war! Not extend it to Africa for God’s sake!!! (Sudan)
Didn’t we learn anything from Clinton’s foray in Somalia? I suggest Obama and Biden read “Black Hawk Down” if they can’t remember…

So I guess mostly republicans that agree with torture are ok with torturing innocent people on the hope we get the guilty. Torturing suspects is torturing those that very well may be innocent and suspects have not been found guilty. This is from and I will say it mostly right wing extremist that think Christian, white is good and everybody else is less. That all Muslims are bad. Let me remind these so called Christians that do not follow their Christian religion except to spout a verse or two when it is good for their own prejudice or agenda. Christians in out past have killed amd tortured thousands of innocent people including burning women, children alive because they were thought to be witches or satan worshipers. No one group of any religion or race is innocent as a whole nor are they guilty as a whole.

and don’t preach to me CAW or anyone… who are you to judge “so called Christian” Are we talking religion or politics?

torture is not what was inflicted on these fn terroists bastards!!! They were interviewed… aggressivly, by our CIA :)
LOL!

shotgunplanet – Christians have morals (or at least claim they do)… do you think Jesus would torture anyone?

shotgunplanet – maybe our soldiers wouldn’t have been murdered in iraq if your hero george bush didn’t lie about WMDs and ‘mushroom clouds’ coming from iraq… can you imagine your response to anyone who came to america based on drummed up lies and started destroying our country?… if you really support the troops you would be horrified by the bush/cheney diabolical lie machine… and if you talk to any intelligent military commander, you will not hear them condone torture… it was done in SECRET, LIED ABOUT, and DENIED! Why? Because it is WRONG, and stupid… yet you defend it!

Like I said earlier earth… I do not believe in torture. But I do believe in killing terrorist. Bill Clinton said there were WMD in Iraq. Why only quote your whpping boy Bush? I don’t hate you… I just happen to strongly dis agree with your politics. hey we might even enjoy a beer together… or wine? Or TEA?

shotgun – what was released today (and hence, what we are talking about on this blog) is the release of memos that support the evidence the the USA committed torture… so are you now agreeing that if the bush/cheney administration approved torture that they should be held accountable??

first round on me…

Thanks earth… seconds are on me.

shotgun – you are WRONG about the memo!
A Bush administration memo from 2005, intended to establish a legal basis for aggressive interrogation techniques, contains a footnote that actually describes waterboarding as falling within the administration’s definition of torture.

I guess being conservative, Christian and have a different opinion in this country is branded by the liberals as a criminal , a terrorist or both. Boy are they drinking a lot of kool aid or what ?

and you right wing apologists better start kissing up to obama a little bit, he looks like he may bow to the criminal acts and let bush/cheney slide with a get-out-of-jail-free card…

Bottom Line; If we were beating the hell out of prisoners for jollies that would be immoral. Useing sleep deprevation or water boarding on a terrorist you have reason to believe has information on an impending attack that could possibly cost thousands of lives is completely Moral. It would be immoral to let hundreds or thousands of innocent people to die because you didn’t do it. How can someones moral compass be so far out of wack that they can’t understand the difference. This coming from a president that supports abortion and refused to vote more than once for a requirement to give medical aid to children who survived the procedure. Liberals should save their lectures on morality until they have some morality. kill the innocent unborn fine with them. Inconvience a terrorist, never they may take you to court.

Oh, yes Bush and his henchmen kept us safe alright! Especially ON 9/11…
Give me a break! No one ever mentions the FACT that the biggest terrorist attack on our country happened DURING the Bush administration who received security briefings about an impending attack and did zero!
And since then more havoc has been raised in the Middle East than ever before giving the ones who were actually responsible for the attacks more and more ammo.
And when has torture ever worked in getting to the truth?

Bush kept us safe???
Did you forget about 9-11 already? Bush was out too lunch, as his own National Security Advisor, Richard Clarke documented.
Cheney probably knew a 9-11 was coming, but figured a hit on the US would give him the means to LIE his way into a needless War on Iraq, and transform Bush into a “War President”.
These NeoCon SOBs drove our nation into the ditch, robbed the middle class, and deserve life sentences in jail for their War Crimes.

Bush and his Fellow Republicans brought much shame upon the U.S.They broke the Constitution many times over, let everyone in America remember this.Next Election’s Vote No to the Republicans!

It is nice to know that Obama gave it some thought. Unfortunitely, it looks like this administrations primary concerned with his own interest. Obama’s only wants to win a popularity contest in the world by blaming americans for the world’s problems. He spends the manjority of our time spending OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY!

Our enemies are glad to know that they will not be made uncomfortable or harmed in any way, but Americans will continue to be tortured since this policy does not affect their procedures for extracting information…or just hurting our people for fun.
If you show your hand in Poker…can you ever win?
Personally, I don’t approve of torture, but having the perception that we “might” use harsh measures to extract information to save lives, is a deterrent to potential adversaries. Since we are taking that off the table and letting them know that they will get a fair trial (that our citizens are denied), how can we possibly hope to succeed? You can’t tie a boxer’s hands behind his back and expect him to score a victory…or even land a punch.
The limits of President Obama’s dream…is REALITY. We have seen this type of failed leadership before with President Clinton and Somalia in 1993…must we repeat these mistakes to learn them again?!

I think they needed to be made public because for years people will still be denying the authenticity of them. Now we know it is true and I agree with President Obama….let’s not go back but forward. Of course the republicans are not happy about them and are stressing the news that we are now not safe. This is absolutely ridiculous. We have the same military source of protection that we would have had if they were not made public. That has not changed and we know we are at risk but we were at risk before. It is just a ploy to take to onus off the fact that they did torture which was against our military policies.

For the best on sports, politics and more, got to http://www.thestr8dope.com
Here’s a theory. Al-Quaeda does not need anything “extra” regarding US torture at Gitmo to recruit. The evidence of the torture was already well documented for all to see, and being used to recruit. The release of the memos and admission by the US Gov’t that these tactics were improper and illegal could actually help US credibility in parts of the world, and thereby actually cut down on the use of torture by the US at Gitmo as a recruiting tool.

were are a country based on principals. To violate those principals invalidates the greatness of our country.

Who was it that said that when you become like the enemy then they have won? Maybe the information was valuable but does the end justify the means? The point is that the US which presumes to be a moral nation cannot countenance such practices. That makes us no better than Hitler´s Gestapo, or the terrorists of the Taliban and El Qaeda.

Noonan: Abu Ghraib pics…funny you mention that, because the acts of “stacking naked prisoners” and videotaping themselves having sex in front of prisoners, was NOT sanctioned by our government; but the result of individuals acting on their own. Yes, the local chain of command didn’t properly supervise these Soldiers. President Obama was WRONG to tell Europeans a couple weeks ago that those acts were U.S. policy…and I am ashamed he made such irresponsible remarks. I don’t know if he meant to condemn us, but what happened there did not even remotely follow DoD policy. Do you really think that professional interrogators would allow these “poorly trained” Soldiers bring cameras and videotapes into the facility to record such flagrant violations and human rights abuses, then let them keep the images (just in case they want to embarrass our country at some point in the future)…are you really that naive?!
I know the Obama Administration and Democrats on the Hill don’t believe actions have consequences, but they will be dispelled of that myth in the not-so-distant future.

“were are a country based on principals. To violate those principals invalidates the greatness of our country.” – xmarks
—————————————
There should be “principals” for all humans, all countries and all organizations…but how realistic is that?! Should we fight a “Gentlemen’s War” when our adversaries are doing the exact opposite? The Grandeur of such comments suggest that there is no possible way we could lose, not to mention hypothesizing that if we act with kindness that all others will do the same.
Your heart is in the right place, but if we have to choose between doing the “nice” thing or winning, I hope we have enough common sense to put winning first. “IF” we can do both, great…but if using sleep-deprivation and other “enhanced interrogation techniques” gets information we need to safeguard our citizens and protect the mission of my fellow Soldiers, I am not going to complain. We don’t seem to fight countries or groups that have standards of conduct or Rules of Engagement, but we are supposed to fight with a rifle in one hand and “laws of nicess” in the other. No military in history has had to fight with so much red tape and public scrutiny. Citizens around the world that have never served under such situations can’t possibly understand these struggles, but they are all too happy to tell us how wrong we are for doing what we do or feeling how we feel. I suggest they leave their “comfort zone” and wear the bullseye for a while, as we critique them. It will never happen, of course, but that is the honest truth. Political Correctness “does” have limits, but we only learn those limits when it is almost too late.
We should always try to do what is right, but not at the expense of our way of life or the lives of the Soldiers we send to defend us. Sometimes, it isn’t possible to do both…and unfortunately, this is one of those times. Giving this enemy, that has no country,respect for international law or human rights, luxurious accomodations and soft treatment while our Soldiers and citizens are treated like animals, tortured and sometimes executed, ignores the realities of this conflict and what it will take to succeed.

George we this was in your memo from Rahm this am to divert attention from the DHS report? Hmm?

Posted by: Gary | Apr 17, 2009 2:26:14 PM
Great post Gary!!!
But as you already know, Liberals live in Fantasy Land.

MomsHugs,
Get a Life!
If exposing truths about the Left upsets you that much, then ‘you’ must be a leftist.
I am a Realist and an Independent myself…. However, the Media favors the Liberals SO much that I am not going to sit by while only one side of the story is told.
Other than that — Go Phish elsewhere.

Are you people more concerned about the “crimes the Bush Adminstration committed” to these terrorists (are we still allowed to use this word or will I offend those who want to kill us) or the crimes that this psychos commited against us on 9/11 and on the battlefield. You liberals are completely twisted…I would rather be slapped or put in a box with a insect than have my head cut off!!! The tactics in this report are not torure. Torture is what these people to do our soldiers and innocents and tape for the world to see….you liberals need to stop trying to appease our enemies and grow a pair!!

The actions by Cheney et.al are what actually make us less safe. The reduction in safety results because nations who believed and trusted that we would not torture their captured military would be less likely to trust us in the future. Therefore, they are more likely to act similarly toward our military who are captured. The actions basically undermined nations who subscribed to agreements like the Geneva Conventions. The disclosure doesn’t affect our safety when it comes to terrorists such as al Queda because they don’t subscribe to or recognize treaties or conventions between and among nations. They kill simply because it is their way of striking out against civilization. The answer to the questions about “safety” depends on who we are talking about. (Less safe with organized nations. No difference in safety with terrorists.)

I actually came back to correct an error in my earlier post – “supporting a major goal of al-Qaeda’s Islamic jihad that began in 1990 [not 1984], the disruption of our government.” My apologies for the typo.
Reference information is from Lawrence Wright who wrote in “The Looming Tower” about a meeting in August of 1988 called by Osama to launch al-Qaeda as a Islamic Jihadist para-military organization. He returned a hero from Afghanistan in 1989, but was then shunned for publicly objecting to the Saudi-USA military alliance in 1990 with the Persian Gulf War. When the US established permanent military bases in the region, Osama was banned to Sudan in 1991 where al-Qaeda flourished. Here’s the time-line if anyone is interested in factual information:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline///shows/binladen/etc/cron.html

If anyone who posted on here claims to love and support our troops, then it should be plain and simple as to why we shouldn’t commit these types of acts. McCain, a former POW, himself said that it’s wrong and he was tortured. So for all the candy a$$ed mouthpieces flopping their chops, get a clue. How can we assert moral authority over anyone under those conditions.

The “fear” that the release of these memos would do harm to our intelligence community is outright bulls#$t.
The ONLY thing these brain surgeons were and are interested in protecting is there collective asses, period.
Furthermore, the real exposure come to our brave men and women in uniform. This exposure was, and has been real for our armed forces and civilians overseas for months. if you doubt this just look at what the North Koreans are doing to two of our journalists right now. And they pointed to Gitmo as well as these very torture memos as supporting THERE case.
No, sorry this is an excuse to try and cover there crimes, nothing more.
The investigation AND prosecutions have to start at this level and go up from there!

Hey Libs,
Maybe instead of calling everything short of Prime-Rib for dinner at a 5 star hotel “torture”, look at facts. Obama swore under oath to protect the Constitution so if these techniques were really torture he would have ordered prosecutions instead of non-prosecution for the CIA agents. As for “just following orders”, that is also violation by the agents for not refusing an unlawful order.
Obama knows what was done was legal and being legal doesn’t fit the definition of “torture”.
If you haven’t noticed the terrorist are laughing at you.

HELLO MY DEAR FRIEND, THIS IS A NICE NOTICE , I AM GRAD ABOUT IT , TAKE MY MSN icenauro@hotmail.com or my skype icenaurorossini

Doesn’t Kit Bond get it??? The reason these memos were published reinforces the point that THESE TECHNIQUES WILL NOT BE USED ANY MORE.
“It doesn’t take an intelligence analyst to figure out that broadcasting to al Qaeda exactly what techniques may be used in an interrogation is a really bad idea,” said Bond.

This is all old news, where is the investigative reporting on the DHS report?

THIS ISSUE IS NO ONE HAVE SLEEPLESS NIGHTS OR HAVE A BLEEDING HEART FOR TERRORIST….BUT AMERICA DOES NOT TORTURE OTHER HUMAN BEINGS, NO MATTER WHAT THEY ARE ACCUSED OF. WE ARE A COUNTRY OF LAWS…..THAT WE REALLY EXPECT OTHER COUNTRIES TO ADHERE TO.

our founding fathers would puke to see the crap bush and company did

Leaking of classified data is always bad for America. Democrats being doing it for long time, from Leahy to Rockefeller, to Clinton to Obama. China has caught up and penetrating all sorts of defense apparatus, while Obama travels abroad and deals with potential security risks, up and including own citizens find repulsive, JANET NAPOLITANO RENO looking for more WACOS. ARE FOUNDING FATHERS WOULD BARF, AT THE ANTICS OF OBAMA AND HIS PARTY. racism meeting boycott joke, saying one thing to Iran and lying to Israel, I wouldnt trst Democrats on Israel interests.

Will we all feel better about ourselves if we catch a terrorist that knows of an impending attack (like 9/11) and we do nothing because we feel morally superior to our enemy?
Will the president then come out and say we did the right thing, despite the deaths of thousands of innocents in less than an hour and a half?
The President has the audacity to hope that that moment never comes

I sat here this morning listening to “This Week” on ABC, and I wanted to throw a brick at my TV. Do these people really believe the men, and or women should be prosecuted for water boarding. If not for the techniques used against these people how many other attacks might have taken place around the world. You people need to open your eyes to the fact that these are very different times we live in. Oh the poor terrorist. Pull your heads out of the sand. I am so tired of hearing all you bleeding hearts out there it makes me sick. When America is bombed again I want all of you who have the view that we need to kiss up to these people to come forward. Sam, you are joke.. It is sad to believe that many Americans share your views.

Rich, I hope you get to read this, and thanks for your service.
Suppose the CIA had captured a Hezbollah operative on Oct 22,1983 and we were certain he knew about the attack plan on the Marine barracks but he wouldn’t talk, no matter what we did short of waterboarding him
Are you telling me that not waterboarding him then was worth losing all of your fellow Marines?
Rodney King got a worse beating than KSM or Abu Zubaydah and all he did was resist arrest.
The former President sought legal justification for the interrogation techniques. He signed an executive order for it authorizing CIA to do it. He notified Congress.
There is also evidence the ‘take’ from the waterboard sessions stopped further attacks. It led directly to the capture of Hambali, who murdered over 200 in Bali in 2002. He himself said he would have gladly done it again if not caught.
I personally believe Bush would have rather gone to jail than have another day on his hands like 9/11.
I put no US President above the law, though…if he broke it, it isn’t for Obama to say whether he should be prosecuted or not. That puts HIM above the law.

Seriously, who believes that if we announce to our enemies that they will NEVER be “tortured” (the term is not clearly defined and subject to interpretation), while knowing that our Soldiers and civilians will continue to be tortured, that recruitment by our enemies will decline or that the hatred for America will subside? You’re fooling yourself if you believe we can win a dirty war by playing fair. War is dirty business and no matter how nice we are, hatred for us will continue and the size of their attackers will continue to grow. I suppose we will learn that lesson the hard way…but after other previous Democrat Administrations and Democrat-Controlled Congresses, we are used to suffering. The order to ban practices like sleep deprivation and waterboarding will NOT produce the desired results and I hope the President explains why common attacks on American Soil need to be accepted as just another part of our day. Our enemies have always feared falling into American hands, but not anymore…so recruiting will become easier, as the word spreads about getting free housing, food, medical care, etc, as a U.S. captive. If you came from the impoverished, war-torn countries they are recruited from, wouldn’t that sound like a sweet deal?! President Obama’s approval rating will sink after the first major attack, now that he has made such radical changes to the policies that seemed to work at keeping us safe after 9/11. The country won’t rally behind the new President like they did President Bush in 2001, as we know what is going on now.

Shouldn’t we be the people who under the eyes of whatever God you believe, or don’t believe in, aspire to follow and transcend to the highest principles? Isn’t that what we have been led to believe the U.S. of A is supposed to stand for? Shouldn’t you like to think that in time this may give the thoughtful among even our hardest enemies some pause? Pause to be a bit more willing to surrender peaceably when we find them? Pause to be a bit less willing to seek to do us harm? Pause to someday consider helping us to achieve for them what we are trying to achieve for ourselves? Isn’t this what we like to think we have already accomplished in our past? Isn’t that the part of our past we wish to repeat?