Nancy Pelosi on Torture | 04/27/2009 12:25 pm
What Did She Know About 'Torture'? Nancy Pelosi on the Defensive

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appears to be on the defensive over what exactly she knew — and when she knew it — about the Bush administration’s "enhanced interrogation" techniques.
The California Democrat befuddled some reporters, Republicans and others last week when she gave what Politico says were some "convoluted answers" to reporters about the interrogations. Now Republicans have jumped at the chance to pummel Pelosi’s insistence that she didn’t know what was going on. CIA Chief Porter Goss said she must be suffering from "amnesia" — since he was with her in 2002 when they were briefed by the CIA on the techniques.
I am slack-jawed to read that members claim to have not understood that the techniques on which they were briefed were to actually be employed; or that specific techniques such as ‘waterboarding’ were never mentioned. It must be hard for most Americans of common sense to imagine how a member of Congress can forget being told about the interrogations of Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed. In that case, though, perhaps it is not amnesia but political expedience.
A Pelosi adviser told Politico that the speaker knew the GOP was going to come after her, and that they likely will again once another batch of alleged torture photos comes out. No doubt that’s going to stir up yet another political mess about how the U.S. treated terror suspects.
The Washington Times reports today that Obama’s release of the CIA memos on interrogation techniques last week, and his recent acquiescence to a bipartisan review panel to look into those aspects of Bush’s presidency, has caused such a furor, even some congressional Democrats want it to just go away. Although, it seems Obama is backing off of that stance now, saying we need to insted look forward. And the newspaper agrees:
The politicization of policy differences has been a fact of life in Washington since the Watergate era, but in the past one could reasonably expect that such political warfare would end when a new administration commenced. Investigatory panels, such as the ‘Commission of Inquiry’ called for by Sen. Patrick Leahy, Vermont Democrat, would represent an unprecedented escalation of political warfare in the American system. Proponents of such tribunals exhibit a spirit of political retribution not seen since the end of the Civil War.
What do you think? Should we have a so-called "truth commission" to look into alleged Bush-era misdeeds, or should the country move on and focus on other things, like the economy?























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He inherited the Bush recession — worst since WWII — and the enormous Bush deficit.
I’m not one of the growing number of regular Americans who believe Bush, Cheney and the Republicans deliberately crashed the economy after they got fired and booted out, because they knew that the ignorant and uninformed, along with the craven party hacks, would blame Pres. Obama for the disaster they created.
Ah Rudi….what the heck was that???
A response to the fact that ObombUs is still spending at the rate of 2 BILLION DOLLARS an HOUR?
Oh…alrighty then…
Hey Girlfriend, Thanks for the Kudos we all certainly appreciate you as well! :))
Hey check out my best friends article……I’m sure that comment will go over like a lead balloon with the Libs, LOL.
Without any pretense of an argument, which liberals are neurologically incapable of, the mainstream media are now asserting that our wussy interrogation techniques at Guantanamo constituted "torture" and have irreparably harmed America’s image abroad.
Only the second of those alleged facts is true: The president’s release of the Department of Justice interrogation memos undoubtedly hurt America’s image abroad, as we are snickered at in capitals around the world, where they know what real torture is. The Arabs surely view these memos as a pack of lies. What about the pills Americans have to turn us gay?
The techniques used against the most stalwart al-Qaida members, such as Abu Zubaydah, included one terrifying procedure referred to as "the attention grasp." As described in horrifying detail in the Justice Department memo, the "attention grasp" consisted of:
"(G)rasping the individual with both hands, one hand on each side of the collar opening, in a controlled and quick motion. In the same motion as the grasp, the individual is drawn toward the interrogator."
The end.
There are rumors that Dick "Darth Vader" Cheney wanted to take away the interrogators’ Altoids before they administered "the grasp," but Department of Justice lawyers deemed this too cruel.
And that’s not all! As the torments were gradually increased, next up the interrogation ladder came "walling." This involves pushing the terrorist against a flexible wall, during which his "head and neck are supported with a rolled hood or towel that provides a C-collar effect to prevent whiplash."
People pay to have a lot rougher stuff done to them at Six Flags Great Adventure. Indeed, with plastic walls and soft neck collars, "walling" may be the world’s first method of "torture" in which all the implements were made by Fisher-Price.
As the memo darkly notes, walling doesn’t cause any pain, but is supposed to induce terror by making a "loud noise": "(T)he false wall is in part constructed to create a loud sound when the individual hits it, which will further shock and surprise." (!!!)
If you need a few minutes to compose yourself after being subjected to that horror, feel free to take a break from reading now. Sometimes a cold compress on the forehead is helpful, but don’t let it drip or you might end up waterboarding yourself.
The CIA’s interrogation techniques couldn’t be more ridiculous if they were out of Monty Python’s Spanish Inquisition sketch:
Cardinal! Poke her with the soft cushions! …
Hmm! She is made of harder stuff! Cardinal Fang! Fetch … THE COMFY CHAIR!
So you think you are strong because you can survive the soft cushions. Well, we shall see. Biggles! Put her in the Comfy Chair! …
Now — you will stay in the Comfy Chair until lunchtime, with only a cup of coffee at 11.
Further up the torture ladder — from Guantanamo, not Monty Python — comes the "insult slap," which is designed to be virtually painless, but involves the interrogator invading "the individual’s personal space."
If that doesn’t work, the interrogator shows up the next day wearing the same outfit as the terrorist. (Awkward.)
I will spare you the gruesome details of the CIA’s other comical interrogation techniques and leap directly to the penultimate "torture" in their arsenal: the caterpillar.
In this unspeakable brutality, a harmless caterpillar is placed in the terrorist’s cell. Justice Department lawyers expressly denied the interrogators’ request to trick the terrorist into believing the caterpillar was a "stinging insect."
Human rights groups have variously described being trapped in a cell with a live caterpillar as "brutal," "soul-wrenching" and, of course, "adorable."
If the terrorist manages to survive the non-stinging caterpillar maneuver — the most fiendish method of torture ever devised by the human mind that didn’t involve being forced to watch "The View" — CIA interrogators had another sadistic trick up their sleeves.
I am not at liberty to divulge the details, except to mention the procedure’s terror-inducing name: "the ladybug."
Finally, the most savage interrogation technique at Guantanamo was "waterboarding," which is only slightly rougher than the Comfy Chair.
Tens of thousands of our troops were waterboarded over the past three decades as part of their training, but not until it was done to Khalid Sheikh Mohammed — mastermind of the 9/11 attack on America — were liberal consciences shocked.
I think they were mostly shocked because they couldn’t figure out how Joey Buttafuoco ended up in Guantanamo.
As non-uniformed combatants, all of the detainees at Guantanamo could have been summarily shot on the battlefield under the Laws of War.
Instead, we gave them comfy chairs, free lawyers, better food than is served in Afghani caves, prayer rugs, recreational activities and top-flight medical care — including one terrorist who was released, whereupon he rejoined the jihad against America, after being fitted for an expensive artificial leg at Guantanamo, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer.
Only three terrorists — who could have been shot — were waterboarded. This is not nearly as bad as "snowboarding," which is known to cause massive buttocks pain and results in approximately 10 deaths per year.
Normal human beings — especially those who grew up with my older brother, Jimmy — can’t read the interrogation memos without laughing.
At Al-Jazeera, they don’t believe these interrogation memos are for real. Muslims look at them and say: THIS IS ALL THEY’RE DOING? We do that for practice. We do that to our friends.
But The New York Times is populated with people who can’t believe they live in a country where people would put a caterpillar in a terrorist’s cell.
Ann Coulter
SJ - As I have told you many times before, liberals are demanding an investigation into this, and if it turns out Dems were complicit in the Bush officials’ evil torture regime, they should and will be held accountable too.
Torture was the brainchild of the sick and degenerate mind of Republicans, especially Dick Cheney. The torture guidelines were developed at the behest of that consumate "yes man" Condoleeza Rice, with the complicity of CIA Director George Tenet, Attorney General John Ashcroft and others. George Bush has said he approved of the torture regime developed and managed by his senior staff.
But if Dems signed off on it, then they should be tried and, if found, guilty take their places in the cells in supermax prisons beside Bush, Cheney, Rice, Ashcroft, Tenet and the rest.
When the next attack comes — whether it’s from an American right-wing terrorist like Bronze-Star winner Sgt. Timothy McVeigh or from right-wing Muslim terorrists — our leaders must know that torture is illegal and they will go to prison if they order it.
Just as importantly, both John McCain, who lied to his torturers in Vietnam and the experts at SERE, the military unit that waterboards cadets to train them to endure torture if they are captured — told Bush officials early on that waterboarding and other forms of torture do not work.
Once again Rudi…to present waterboarding as torture is the issue here. It was demonstrated and approved by the National Security Council. Pelosi is one of two things; Either she is a liar…Or she is incompetent.
Not only was waterboarding demonstrated, but the new guidelines and any use of this technique was reported to the NSC. It is not the waterboarding issue of the past. There were guidelines in place in insure that no severe mental or physical harm was inflicted.
No less than 5 CIA directors agree that these techniques have been instrumental in gathering information. That is irrefutable, as the memos will attest to.
John McCain was actually tortured and has a much affected opinion on the issue. He most certainly can not have an impartial view of the facts considering the extreme pain and torture that he did experience.
The facts stand on their own that the techniques approved from 2002 - 2006 were effective.
This little witch hunt will do nothing for our Nation on any level. Pelosi and the other members of the NSC that did in fact oversee, approve and regulate these techniques should have taken a trick from the Obama playbook and simply renamed the updated version from "waterboarding" to " aquatic inhalation adversion".
Face it ….this was a decision that everyone involved in those postions at that time approved of. It could not have been approved without it. Obviously, they realized that the new guidelines were in place and assured that it did not inflict severe harm either mentally or physically.
I would love how you are able to justify this comment Kelly……
Since McCain was actually tortured, he cant have an objective opinion about it? That would be the same as saying that a woman that went through child birth cant have an objective opinion about the pain they went through.
If someone that was actually tortured says that it doesnt help to get truthful information…. then what more proof is needed?
John McCain was tortured…… it didnt inflict severe harm on him mentally, so should we say that the torture that he was given was justifiable because they were just looking for information? I dont think so…. and I doubt that you think so either.
If you want to argue that "techniques have been instrumental in gathering information." then you are also arguing that these techniques can and should be used against American soldiers by the enemy. I hope you dont believe that too.
Well Roger, because that is how I view his situation. I think that what McCain endured effected him mentally and physically. I feel that he can not be impartial because of the severity of his torture. That is my opinion.
No need to put words in my mouth, I am clear on what I am saying; waterboarding as it is now applied is not torture. It has been instrumental in gathering information. The enemy does torture, maim, behead, severely impair and injure both mentally and physically.
The 3 terrorists that is entire situation surrounds did in fact give up information. It was useful as 4 former and Obamas current CIA director attests to.
Do you really believe that only 3 "terrorists" were tortured and it worked? Those 3 were waterboarded almost 300 times…. having to repeat something that many times is proof that it does not work.
When you continue to toss around that 3 "terrorist" theory….. remember this….. 108 people that were in custody of Americans at Gitmo were killed…… Even the Red Cross filed reports that people were being tortured while in the care of America.
and all of this evil was done under YOUR and my name…… If we dont do something about it, we are no better than the terrorists that you aprove of torturing.