The Evils of P.C.

Hearing-impaired. Verbally-challenged. Vision-depleted. This is the state of our nation regarding the practices of torture by the administration -- deaf, dumb, and blind:

News coverage of the torture issue began in proper terms after the publication of the Abu Ghraib photographs. There were a handful of reports that predated this, such as notice of the first two deaths in Bagram Air Base. At the time the Abu Ghraib photographs appeared, I had completed a major study by the NYC Bar Association looking into legal standards governing interrogation practices. This study had been directly inspired by information the Bar had received from its JAG members to the effect that unlawful torture techniques were being used. Specifically, the following techniques were the focus of our concern: waterboarding, long-time standing, hypothermia, sleep deprivation in excess of two days, the use of psychotropic drugs and the sensory deprivation/sensory overload techniques first developed for the CIA at McGill University. Each of these techniques has a long history. Each had historically been condemned as “torture” by the United States when used by other nations. Each was clearly prohibited under the prior U.S. Army Field Manual. And each was now being used.

I discovered that when I gave interviews to major media on this subject, any time I used the word “torture” with reference to these techniques, the interview passage would not be used. At one point I was informed by a cable news network that “we put this on international, because we can’t use that word on the domestic feed.” “That word” was torture. I was coached or told that the words “coercive interrogation technique” were fine, but “torture” was a red light. Why? The Administration objected vehemently to the use of this word. After all, President Bush has gone before the cameras and stated more than three dozen times “We do not torture.” By using the T-word, I was told, I was challenging the honesty of the president. You just couldn’t do that. [emphasis added]

For all the supposed left-wing media bias, the media seems to be doing a perfectly good job of rolling over for this administration.

Simply put, if you put a person in a position where he legitimately thinks he's going to die (water-boarding) ; where he loses all presence of mind (sleep deprivation); or is put in a condition where his health is threatened (hypothermia) -- it is not a "coercive interrogation technique" -- it's TORTURE.

Thus, if the U.S. doesn't torture, those tactics should be banned yesterday.

Via Daily Dish.