Did Bush already know that waterboarding is an illegal form of torture?

Question

When George W. Bush was the governor of Texas, the state investigated, indicted, convicted and sentenced to prison for 10 years a county sheriff who, with his deputies, had waterboarded a criminal suspect. That sheriff got no pardon from Gov. Bush.

Waterboarding is torture in the eyes of all civilized peoples, no matter how desperately President George W. Bush tries to rewrite the English language, with which he has only a passing familiarity, anyway. No matter how desperately his entire administration tries to redefine the word "torture" to cover the fact that not only have they acquiesced in its use, but they also have ordered its use.

The president, Vice President Dick Cheney, and their cronies and legal mouthpieces such as David Addington, John Yoo and Alberto Gonzales are doing all they can to avoid one day facing the bar of justice, at home or in The Hague, and being called to account for crimes against humanity.

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/galloway/story/21200.html

It is worth pointing out that the Bush Admin. has been waterboarding people, not to gain intelligence about future attacks, but to force confessions for past attacks.

Bryan: If those men held at Gitmo aren't POWs, then they must be criminal suspects, in which case they have the right to due process and other legal protections. If they're not criminals, then they must be hostages!

Answer 1

Ronald Reagan declared water boarding illegal when he was president. The U.S. will regret the things they are doing some day just like they regret the internment of the Japanese during WW II. Is the pride and tradition in our country now based on brutality? This is not the first time in our history that we have interrogated our enemies. Did the methods used then fail us?

Answer 2

It's almost if this Govt for the past many yrs is trying to establish te_rorism. Look at the 'S_hool of A_ericas', the 50 countries this Govt has overthrown and now breaking Int'l laws in this reckless movement.
This could be a prelude to a more overall future reality. Hunting down anyone who disagrees or doesn't accept a 'mark'.
All these things should be shocking to citizens here as our tax money is funding some of these ventures. We believe in something that is being over-ruled by a violent force.

2 added remarks: already many of the victims of these tortures have been found innocent or have confessed b/c of torture methods -- as far as it being legal the Parliament is displeased with it and many 'Intel' agents are being held for trials overseas
the references to 911 are invalid until the hundreds of questions asked by Intellectuals regarding 'coincidences' regarding the 'attack' are answered (why fly out family of the the 'attacker w/o even questioning them) (did the letter from P NAC.calling for a 'New Pearl Harbor' get an answer) (why was the law changed so pilots could not carry firearms after 40 yrs just 2 months b4 attack) ( our Natl defense on shut-down allowing this to happen) whatever the answers we can believe the truth or follow a grand deception which will lead to destruction

Answer 3

The military should only be allowed to request information from terrorists. This request shall be in the form of a pleasant computer generated voice of the terrorist's choosing. All terms, words, and phrases found to be offensive, irritating, abrasive, or distasteful to the terrorist shall be avoided. A minimum of 2" of religiously approved padded material shall be placed under all terrorists buttocks so as to minimize discomfort. Wake up, you morons! Waterboarding is an effective interrogation technique (not torture) that should remain on the table. Proper approval for this extreme, but rarely used, method should be difficult to obtain. The president, the justice department, and leaders of congress should all be consulted for approval. THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. Bush did it right. Obama is a naive, ideological fool who has single-handedly made us more vulnerable to more attacks.

Answer 4

OK, do us all a favour and do some research, OK?

1. The Geneva Convention does not cover terrorists. Al Qaeda is not a sovereign nation. Terrorists are rogue agents only. They have no rights. Get that out of your head. This means your ENTIRE argument is based on a falsehood.

2. Do you honestly believe that they're worried about being tried for 'crimes'? Has it not occurred to you that if there WERE something even remotely illegal about this... in reality, not in your little liberal fantasyland... that Pelosi and/or Reid would have called for impeachment and trials? Does it not ring a bell with you that Pelosi has already said there would BE no effort at all to impeach because it would be a waste of money and time? WHAT does that tell you? Do you GET it?
NO CRIME.
Now... I know narrow-minded folks have a hard time taking any viewpoint not their own... so I'll say this really clearly:


George W Bush is not a tyrant. He is a President... something you will never understand. He is charged with the personal safety of the American people, something about which you have little regard since you believe that our lives are worth less than some radical jihadist's humiliation or discomfort. If you are so certain that America is evil and we are the bad guys... MOVE TO AFGHANISTAN! Go join Osama... you're free to go!
Otherwise... settle down and do some research and you'll see that your entire rant is ridiculous and unfounded since you proceed from a false assumption that the Geneva Convention or any other rules of engagement apply when dealing with radical terrorists.

Answer 5

Sorry, but in times of war, we generally KILL the enemy. It isn't pretty, it isn't nice, but would you prefer we asked the terrorists nicely? I think the criminal justice system in this country is in a sad state, and I am not surprised that a sherrif did this. The president should absolutely NOT pardon this man. His victim was an American citizen. Even if he was a murderer, he is not an enemy combatant with possible knowledge of another 9/11 attack. As someone who watched those towers burn and frantically tried to locate a family member, I am curious to know where your loyalties lie, or if you noticed the gaping hole in lower Manhatten. The Jews in WW2 had no political motives nor did they commit treason, they were slaughtered based on race. THAT is why the Nazis were war criminals. We are detaining and interrogating terrorists. I'm sorry it offends your sensibilities, but perhaps you should focus your efforts on what is going on daily in our inner cities, where poor kids lured to crime out of desperation and misinformation are being given 30 year to life sentance for a few ounces of coke. Our military is trying to protect you, and your right to question them!

Answer 6

Bush doesn't know anything unless he's gone and reinvented the definition of that word, term, or procedure.

EDIT: I find it distinctly amusing that so many people here believe that in order to BEAT terrorists at their own games, we have to *become* the very thing we are supposedly against.

Most people never learn from past mistakes or history for that matter. Which is making the terrorists' job (now), a lot more easier to carry out.

All they have to point at America and say: "You're no different than us."

Answer 7

When Bush says, "The United States does not torture", he's deliberately omitting two crucial facts:

1) He's not admitting that waterboarding is torture.

2) When they want to get medieval on a suspect, they send him outside the country for "extraordinary rendition". That may make it easier for Bush to sleep at night, but denying all responsibility for this is like trying to argue that the man who hired a contract killer isn't responsible for the murder. Hiring a foreigner to do the torturing is still torture.

Answer 8

first prove with hard evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that this administration has committed any crimes against humanity, make it worth all of our time and money to prosecute him.

second show me where in the geneva convention it explicitly says water boarding is torture.

As for the sherriff in Texas he was not convictedunder Bush the case was in the 1983 and were only sentenced to four years. They were out of prison long before Bush was in office. I suggest you fact check your source a little he seems to have a personal agenda and was awfuly liberal with the presentation of the facts

Answer 9

Bush would legalize and put into use the rope and chain system to stretch someones limbs out if he could. He has no humanity in him, and no regard for the rule of law.

Answer 10

Crimes against humanity?
I have always believed that to deserve this term, one must first act human - and that's not high on a terrorist's resume.
Waterboarding a man for information which could potentially save thousands of innocent lives - a man who would slit your throat just to make another video - wake up a smell the coffee.