Waterboarding is torture.
Michael Mukasey cannot admit to this basic fact.
I respect Michael Mukasey and believe he is an intelligent and capable man. However, given our recent history, it is important that our next attorney general be able to stand up to the President and for the rule of law. I am not confident that Michael Mukasey will.
If he can't say no to torture - congress should say no to Mukasey.
While Michael Mukasey refuses to answer the question of whether waterboarding is torture, the precedent is clear. In 1947, Yukio Asano, a Japanese officer, was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for performing a form of waterboarding on an American citizen.
In 2004, Daniel Levin, who was then acting assistant attorney general, volunteered to be waterboarded. Later, he told the White House "even though he knew he wouldn't die, he found the experience terrifying and thought that it clearly simulated drowning."
If Michael Mukasey cannot answer the simple question of of whether or not waterboarding is torture, he should not serve as attorney general.
2007-11-06
23:34:03
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12 answers
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asked by
courage
6
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Politics