Cheney: "I Was A Big Supporter Of Waterboarding"

[UpInArms]

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2010/02/cheney-i-was-a-big-supporter-of-waterboarding.html

That seems to me to be the big news out of Jonathan Karl's interview with the former vice-president today. There is not a court in the United States or in the world that does not consider waterboarding torture. The Red Cross certainly does, and it's the governing body in international law. It is certainly torture according to the UN Convention on Torture and the Geneva Conventions. The British government, America's closest Western ally, certainly believes it is torture. No legal authority of any type in the US or the world has ever doubted that waterboarding is torture. To have subjected an individual to waterboarding once is torture under US and international law. To subject someone to it 183 times is so categorically torture is it almost absurd to even write this sentence.

To give the Wikipedia definition:

Waterboarding is a torture technique that consists of immobilizing the victim on his or her back with the head inclined downwards; water is then poured over the face into breathing passages, causing the captive to believe he or she is dying.<1><2> In contrast to submerging the head face-forward in water, waterboarding precipitates an almost immediate gag reflex.<3> It can cause extreme pain, dry drowning, damage to lungs, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, lasting psychological damage or, if uninterrupted, death.<4> Adverse physical consequences can manifest themselves months after the event, while psychological effects can last for years.<5>

So the former vice-president has just confessed to a war crime. I repeat: the former vice-president has just confessed to a war crime.

There is no statute of limitations for such a crime; and the penalty under law is either the death penalty or a prison sentence for life:


Nations who are party to these treaties must enact and enforce legislation penalizing any of these crimes.<9> Nations are also obligated to search for persons alleged to commit these crimes, or ordered them to be committed, and to bring them to trial regardless of their nationality and regardless of the place where the crimes took place. The principle of universal jurisdiction also applies to the enforcement of grave breaches. Toward this end, the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia were established by the United Nations to prosecute alleged violations.


The question is therefore not if, but when, he is convicted as a war criminal - in his lifetime or posthumously.

...more...

[BunkerHill24]

1. Oh man! A former VP admitted "he ordered" torture with impunity!

By Gewd...WTF?

[Mari333]

2. he can brag about it because he knows no one will ever prosecute him

he will skate. they all will. we arent supposed to demand investigation, we are supposed to look forward and keep prosecution off the table.

sarcasm on.

[annabanana]

3. He also admitted that he (& Bush, of course) ordered Yoo & Bybee

to find a fig leaf for them to hide behind. And he's mad that no one is out there vociferously defending them.

"I thought it was important for some senior person in the administration to stand up and defend those people who’d done what we asked them to do."

Consiglieri for the Mob that was the previous administration....

[SpiralHawk]

4. Cheney is a HUGE Supporter of military deferments for Republcion war profiteers

Like himself. The most defered of all the vast horde of republicon chickenhawks, Cheney is the envy of Legendary Shirkers like Rush AssPimple-DraftDodger Limbaugh...

[Lint Head]

5. This son of a bitch should be arrested and prosecuted.

If I tortured anyone from a bank robber to someone breaking into my house or raping my wife I would spend time in prison.
That is a fact. Dick Cheney is a Criminal! Big 'C'.

[AnneD]

6. Test out his pacemaker.......

water board him.

[90-percent]

7. Dick

when Dick advocates for torture, he is urinating on all the brave people that fought for freedom for America in all our wars in history. Our troops fight to preserve the principals our country was based on. Pretty sure there's not much emphasis on torture in the Constitution, the Bill of Rights or the Declaration of Independence.

And now when one of our guys gets captured by any enemy in the world, we can no longer hold the high ground to keep our guys from getting tortured. "You're telling me I can't torture your American Soldier, when you've admitted torturing the soldiers from my country? Go pound sand, you American hypocrite!"


So explain to me again how American Torture "supports our troops"?

-90% jimmy

[Blue Owl]

8. A proud supporter of torture.

He takes PRIDE in maiming and hurting others.

This sick freak has no business in public office.

To think that he was the VICE PRESIDENT of this freaking country is simply horrifying.

[heli]

9. A true living evil

[Overseas]

10. K&R. I agree. Amazing brazen admission. //nt

[pipi_k]

11. I was about to say that somebody should waterboard

HIM and see how he likes it until I realized that it would probably only make him even more excited about using it on alleged terrorists.

Sick, sick man...

[Solly Mack]

12. It's not the first time he has admitted to it

and he's still free

[oldlib]

13. Dick Cheney

I dislike this man. He represents all that was evil in the Bush administration.

[spanone]

14. I N D I C T **** N O W

[xiamiam]

15. well thats what we prefer but we are not looking backwards

until we do, however, this wound continue to fester..put the sob behind bars

[donheld]

16. Good, let's water board Cheney NOW