It’s about time someone spelled it out. Waterboarding is not torture.
Yesterday on PBS’s Newshour, host Gwen Ifill asked Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO) whether waterboarding constitutes torture. Bond replied that the technique is actually more like “swimming“:
GWEN IFILL: Do you think that waterboarding, as I described it, constitutes torture?
SEN. KIT BOND: There are different ways of doing it. It’s like swimming, freestyle, backstroke. The waterboarding could be used almost to define some of the techniques that our trainees are put through, but that’s beside the point. It’s not being used.
That ought to put an end to this ridiculous discussion. Surf’s up, dude!
— Psycheout
Tags: waterboard, waterboarding
Blogs 4 Conservatives 
December 13, 2007 at 8:19 am |
When I saw the video of Sen. Kit Bond, I thought it was a joke. Kurt Vonnegut, even in his hey day, would not even imagined the ridiculousness of Bond’s statement.
December 13, 2007 at 11:30 am |
230+ years of American heroes fought to protect us from what we’ve become. What a shame. Neo-con chimpanzees supporting torture.
December 13, 2007 at 1:34 pm |
You know, after the WW2 ended, some Japanese POW were put on trial for war crimes. For what? Waterboarding American POW’s.
Tell me, Psychout, if an American airman is captured by the Iranians, and the waterboard him for a few hours every day, he he been tortured? Or did they just give him a chance to have a nice swim?
December 14, 2007 at 8:54 am |
waterboard him for a few hours every day,he been tortured? Or did they just give him a chance to have a nice swim?
MikeL,
If they waterboard him for hours even after he confesses, then they would be “torturing” him.
We’ve never had to waterboard more than a few seconds. Because after they confess we STOP.
We don’t waterboard for nothing, and we want it to be over as quickly as possible. A few seconds of waterboarding could save millions upon millions of lives.
Think about it, which would you want … waterboard a terrorist for a few seconds and thrawt a plot of mass chaos?
Or … blooshed as far as the east coast is from the west?
Think about it …
~ Jeremiah
December 14, 2007 at 11:19 am |
1) What would Jesus do? We both know what he wouldn’t do. And the worst part is, I have to go around apologizing for fake Christians like you. Don’t like that? Too bad. There are minimum requirements to call yourself a Christian, and you don’t meet them.
2) You’re going to have to answer the question. If the Iranian waterboard a US airman, and keep doing it cause he won’t talk, is that torture? Or was is just a nice swim? From Psycheout’s post, it has to be one of the other.
3) Hey Psycheout, at least ligthofjesus tried to answer. You haven’t, not here, not on Balloon Juice where you’ve posted before and after I asked again. I’d like to see you display at least 1% of the courage my friend in the 82nd Airborn has.
December 14, 2007 at 1:41 pm |
MikeL, you won’t find any courage from Psycheout.
The majority of the people who run this blog are CHINOS. Christain in name only.
December 14, 2007 at 4:02 pm |
MikeL & Spacebrother,
There’s no need in us answering you, because you’re typical Liberals that can’t be reasoned with, So what’s the point?
The facts are in…you are terrorist apologists!
~ Jeremiah
December 14, 2007 at 5:00 pm |
Maybe someone should just waterboard PsyKKKeout then, for treason against the human race.
December 14, 2007 at 5:55 pm |
1. Jesus would divine the answer He required. We can’t do that.
2. It’s not torture when used properly. It would be inappropriate however if used repeatedly and gratuitously for no reason other than for punishment.
You see, we waterboard terrorists to get information from them in order to prevent future terrorist attacks.
The Iranians (their military I assume you mean) would have no such justification in your silly hypothetical scenario since The United States does not engage in terrorism.
We don’t waterboard Iranians, as far as I know, and they don’t waterboard Americans, as far as I know.
Hope that helps.
December 14, 2007 at 7:37 pm |
“There’s no need in us answering you, because you’re typical Liberals that can’t be reasoned with, So what’s the point?
The facts are in…you are terrorist apologists!
~ Jeremiah”
Spoken like a true CHINO. Jesus hates when people uses his name to support torture and murder. I guess Hell has a little more room for you bercause thats exactly where you’re going. Jesus hates you.
December 15, 2007 at 10:37 am |
“Jesus hates when people uses his name to support torture and murder.”
Unless they’re Muslim, of course. Everybody except Conservative Christians have a right to kill for self-defense. Conservative Christians must have planes flown into their houses because of what they believe.
Spacebot is nothing more than a computer program. Just ignore him.
December 16, 2007 at 11:42 am |
Real Christains are against all forms of murder KKKorKKKer.
War = Murder
Death Penalty = Murder
Abortion = Murder
Murder = Not a Christain value regardless
Simple math for simple minds.
Conservative Muslims fly planes into buildings (not houses dumbASS KKKorKKKer) and Christains still love them despite. That is the basic fundamental teaching by Christ, otherwise you’re a plastic phony Christain.
December 16, 2007 at 11:43 am |
….and Waterboarding IS torture stupidASSes.
December 16, 2007 at 12:45 pm |
I wasn’t suggesting the US was engaging in terrorism. I was asking that if a US airman is shot down and waterboarded for information, and waterboarded repeatedly because he won’t talk, is that torture? This is not a silly scenario, it could very well happen if Iran is attacked.
And if it does happen, how can you object, after bending over backwards claiming that waterboarding is not torture?
*It’s not torture when used properly.* You seem to be suggesting that whether it’s torture of not depends on the intentions of the people doing it. The Soviets thought the same way. That attitude got them a very bad reputation.
Of course it’s torture. Everyone not ideologically committed to your cause knows it. Your denials only make you look like idiots. Ever notice England or Israel don’t have these arguments? That’s because they do the smart thing, don’t admit it, don’t let evidence get out, and don’t try to redefine a vice into a virtue.
*We don’t waterboard Iranians, as far as I know, and they don’t waterboard Americans, as far as I know.*
The issue isn’t waterboarding that involved Iranians, it’s waterboarding period. Sorry, your response is not helpful at all – you’re parsing the questions into another form to avoid answering them. Somewhere, Bill Clinton is smiling.
December 16, 2007 at 1:16 pm |
MikeL,
So, then we’re supposed to ignore the implications of the sole intentions of those who wish to do us harm…correct?
False! When the lives of 300,000,000 million GOOD intentioned people are on the line, the intentions of the enemy can’t be ignored. period.
~ Jeremiah
December 16, 2007 at 3:16 pm |
MikeL, ignoring the context is impossible unless you’re being intellectually dishonest.
Example: Is sexual activity always rape or never rape? See? That’s the way you’re treating waterboarding.
Only when sexual activity is against someone’s will it is called rape, is it not?
December 17, 2007 at 8:35 am |
OMG, Psycheout made sense for once. Unless I’m misinterpreting, I’d say you agree that waterboarding IS torture.
December 17, 2007 at 11:14 am |
Spacebrother, you are not misinterpreting. He just agreed waterboarding is torture.
Just like putting your member in a woman after she says “NO!” is always rape, waterboarding some who says “NO!” is always torture. Ignore the context that the victim of waterboarding is unwilling is intellectually dishonest.
December 17, 2007 at 5:41 pm |
I would say as far as terrorists are concerned, there should be no worry if they are unwilling or not.
Unwilling or not, a terrorist has no rights in my book.
~ Jeremiah
December 18, 2007 at 12:34 am |
This is the way you’ve got to look at it, or at least the way I do anhow, and I really don’t care how anybody else looks at it — but, let’s say for instance two men come in and brutally Murder my mom and two brothers while I’m away, and I find one of the suspects, but not the other one, there’s a pretty good likelyhood that the one I found knows where his terrorist buddy is at.
There’s a 100% chance that he’ll never tell me where his other terrorist buddy went, and I’ll never know unless I do something to get that information …
Common sense tells me that if I want Justice served, then I’ll do what I have to do to find the other suspect at large.
And the same goes for this great country, It’s a good thing that we’ve got Leaders who will do what is necessary to ensure that American lives are kept out of harms way.
I’m Thankful that the Libtards aren’t in control of mine or anyones elses safety, or we’d all be dead.
~ Jeremiah