Dick Cheney before he dicks you...

Ok, not exactly but apparently some brushfires sprung up with Cheney's latest:

Bush says U.S. doesn't torture after Cheney flap

“I did not talk about specific techniques and won’t,” the vice president said. “I didn’t say anything about water boarding. ... He (Hennen) didn’t even use that phrase.”

“I have said that the interrogation program for a selected number of detainees is very important,” Cheney said. “(It) has been I think one of the most valuable intelligence programs we have. I believe it has allowed us to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States.”

At his photo op, Bush said, “This country doesn’t torture, we’re not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they’ve got information that will be helpful to protect the country.”

Ok, not exactly but apparently some brushfires sprung up with Cheney's latest:

Bush says U.S. doesn't torture after Cheney flap

“I did not talk about specific techniques and won’t,” the vice president said. “I didn’t say anything about water boarding. ... He (Hennen) didn’t even use that phrase.”

“I have said that the interrogation program for a selected number of detainees is very important,” Cheney said. “(It) has been I think one of the most valuable intelligence programs we have. I believe it has allowed us to prevent terrorist attacks against the United States.”

At his photo op, Bush said, “This country doesn’t torture, we’re not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they’ve got information that will be helpful to protect the country.”

Prisoner and alledged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed was subjected to the technique of water Boarding while in CIA custody. This technique is expressly forbidden in the Army Field Manual, and implicitly prohibited in the Geneva Conventions.

In BushCo world, waterboarding is defined as "aggressive interrogation." Like many of his justifications for abandoning long-standing, and in this case internationally-accepted, principles, Bush just redefines the meaning of the principle. In this case, torture simply becomes an aggressive interrogation technique.

So when the lying sacks of **** say they don't torture, within the scope of their new definition, they can hide behind this obvious obfuscation.

Waterboarding Technique
The prisoner is generally strapped down with his feet higher than his head. Cellophane (or a cloth) is wrapped over the prisoner's face and water is poured over his nose and mouth. The technique produces an terrifying sensation of suffocation and drowning and forces an intense gag reflex. Visual demonstration here.

From a humanitarian standpoint alone, this technique is understandably prohibited. But in practical terms too, it should concern BushCo that this technique (and others) can be used against our soldiers who are captured by the enemy. It is obvious that BushCo could care less about that as even John McCain and Colin Powell pointed this possibility out in their objections to his flatulent Military Commisions Act.

Cheney's favorite sport:

dunking in the Middle Ages which is
where Cheney and the rest of BushCo belongs