Ask Someone Who Knows Something About It

The release of the Senate report on torture by the CIA has drawn a lot of attacks from Republicans. There are justifications, explanations, anger, fears and all kinds of things going around. When asked what made it legal, former President Bush said, "because our lawyers said it was." Most studies of torture (or "enhanced interrogation techniques" in 1984-type Newspeak) have found that it is a useless way of gathering information. It doesn't work because the prisoners have often been trained to give wrong answers, incorrect information, and misleading directions.

How do we know this? Because that is what we train OUR troops to do when tortured. But, of course, we are smarter than our average enemy and won't work on us will work on them.

The man who may know the most about torture-based interrogations is of course, a Republican, Senator John McCain (R-AZ). And of course he is attacking the report. Oh, wait. No he's not. He knows the truth behind torture and its impact. It does not save lives, it only gives the "torturing nation" a sense of power. It gets more mis-information than truth and ends up eating away at the soul of those who do the enhanced interrogations.

John McCain has said and done many things that I disagree with. He has, however, been doggedly consistent on this issue. For that I am glad. Thank you, Senator. Too bad your colleagues aren't listening.