Friday, July 18, 2008

US Attorney General Says Waterboarding US Soldiers is OK

Here is a pompous ass, John Ashcroft who was US Attorney General from 2001-2005, telling a US Congressional hearing that waterboarding is "not torture".



The above are the opinions of a right wing stooge. The following is the opinion of Wikipedia which I believe is a more credible source on this issue:

Waterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing a person on their back with the head inclined downward and pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages. Through forced suffocation and inhalation of water, the subject experiences the process of drowning and is made to believe that death is imminent. In contrast to merely submerging the head face-forward, waterboarding almost immediately elicits the gag reflex. Although waterboarding does not always cause lasting physical damage, it carries the risks of extreme pain, damage to the lungs, brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, injuries (including broken bones) due to struggling against restraints, and even death. The psychological effects on victims of waterboarding can last for years after the procedure.

Notice how Ashcroft never answered the question: "... if these techniques were used on American soldiers that they would be totally unacceptable and even criminal?" He talks about his son serving, but I'm pretty sure that if he knew that insurgents had his son and were waterboarding him he wouldn't be saying "these are tough practices but we cannot call them torture". He is a hypocrite. He is a right wing fanatic, an ideologue who is so wrapped up in his ideology that he refuses to answer questions or tell the truth.

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