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• Sunday, October 5, 2008 11:13 AM

  What A Difference A Year Makes

  From Glenn' last link, which is an article by Malcolm Nance, a former chief of training at the U.S. Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School:

  1. "One has to overcome basic human decency to endure causing the effects [of waterboarding]. The brutality would... leave you questioning the meaning of what it is to be an American."

  2. "Is there a place for the waterboard? Yes. It must go back to the realm of training our operatives, soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines - to prepare for its uncontrolled use by our future enemies."

  3. "Our own missteps have already created a cadre of highly experienced lecturers for Al Qaeda's own virtual school for terrorists."

  and finally, showing that this article appeared a year ago, before McCain voted against a bill that would have curtailed the CIA's use of the technique:

  4. "I agree with Sen. John McCain. Waterboarding should never be used as an interrogation tool. It is beneath our values."

  In short, McCain, who once claimed that he survived torture in captivity through a belief that his country stood for something better than those who used it against him, was, at least at that time, a champion for those familiar with torture who saw that its use would "br[eak] the seal on the Pandora's box of indignity, cruelty and hatred in the name of protecting America."

  Too bad McCain has since changed his position. He was against torture... before he was for it.

  —David Tarrell Read David Tarrell's other letters
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