Thursday, October 25, 2007


Is Waterboarding Torture? According To Rudy Giuliani, It All Depends

Michael Cooper is reporting in the New York Times this morning that at a town hall meeting in Iowa last night Rudy Giuliani made a statement that would have gotten his knuckles rapped back in Catholic school.

Asked if he thought waterboarding is torture, Rudy responded

“Well, I’m not sure it is either. I’m not sure it is either. It depends on how it’s done. It depends on the circumstances. It depends on who does it. I think the way it’s been defined in the media, it shouldn’t be done. The way in which they have described it, particularly in the liberal media. So I would say, if that’s the description of it, then I can agree, that it shouldn’t be done. But I have to see what the real description of it is. Because I’ve learned something being in public life as long as I have. And I hate to shock anybody with this, but the newspapers don’t always describe it accurately.”
It depends on who does it? Is he really saying that if "bad guys" do it, waterboarding is torture, but if "good guys" do it, it isn't? Sometimes it would be torture and sometimes it wouldn't depending on the circumstances? That is about 3/4 of the way down the slippery slope to the good old days of the Gestapo.

As to the description of waterboarding, the guy wants to be President of the United States. Don't you think it would be appropriate for him to find out if the media describes the practice accurately?

Cooper has the entire transcript, including a lot of media bashing. Maybe we should call it "mediaboarding?"