Waterboarding is torture, says Bob Barr — boos follow

Former Georgia congressman, presidential candidate and AJC blogger Bob Barr got himself booed on Friday at the CPAC convention in Washington. His sin: Barr declared that waterboarding is torture – and suggested that U.S. courts are capable of handling trials for terrorists.

This video was posted by the liberal group Think Progress:

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63 comments Add your comment

Mrs. Glenn Richardson

February 21st, 2010
10:46 am

Torture? Try living with Glenn…

Tommy Lee Maddox

February 21st, 2010
4:33 pm

Why don’t some of you folks turn out to protest when our soldiers’ testicles are cut off and stuffed down their throats before they are set on fire by individuals you do not wish to see get wet?

Grow a spine then put a brain on top.

DirtyDawg

February 21st, 2010
7:14 pm

I used to think that ‘conservatism’ was, as Galbraith said, simply the search for a better excuse for selfishness. Now it’s clear that it has, in addition to graduating to unvarnished greed, become another word for sadism.

Barr said it,…General Petraeus has said it…hell, even Colin Powell has said it…it’s not just because it’s the law under the Geneva Convention, it’s both the wise and ‘right’ thing to do. If you all want to be like Cheney then you’ll be mired, along with the rest of the bottom feeders, in the worst 13% of the country that still agrees with the Dick.

Lewis

February 21st, 2010
10:01 pm

General Daniel Petraeus just confirmed that he is firmly against torture, that it is counter-productive, and that the techniques in the Army Manual are far more effective. Why are so many commenters not supporting our military? It seems to me they are trying to help the enemy.

Billy O

February 21st, 2010
10:42 pm

If you want to get a feel for what waterboarding feels like, just turn you face up in the shower and try to breath. It definitely gives you a uneasy feeling……torture…..I think not.

Sic semper tyrannis

February 21st, 2010
11:17 pm

Everyone wailing and gnashing their teeth about “welfare recipients” NAME TWO PEOPLE the you know for certain receive a welfare check without having to put in 20+ hours per week in meetings and training to get it. Welfare is a thing of the past: it’s the racial codeword bait your leaders use to get you snarling and wanting blood. When Southern Company get several million in tax breaks and doesn’t have to pay to clean up the soot you are breathing in from their coal plants, or Georgia Pacific (division of the TRUE Terrorist Empire – Koch Industries) pays no taxes while it clearcuts state land for pulp, that’s not kind of welfare your handlers want to make you aware of.

The people who are the biggest threat to your way of freedom, health, security and way of life aren’t the donkey #!)%ers who live in the hardscrabble caves of Afghanistan. They are the suits and ties in board rooms of banks and multi-nationals who use your tax dollars to get government to make them wealthier at your expense. Compare the money GE, Lockheed, Rockwell and the other beltway bandits make and it PALLS in comparison to the social safety net for the lower-middle classes. Anyone who is unemployed and still believes big government is a threat should feel free to give up the checks back to reduce the deficit.

The Tuna

February 21st, 2010
11:29 pm

Tommy Lee Maddox – any relation to Lester? Just for the record, can you give us any names, ranks or dates of a US soldier who had their “testicles cut off and stuffed down their throats” in either Iraq or Afghanistan? I remember a story about a guy that happened to in “Nam, but different war, different enemy.

Billy, for an adequate comparison to water boarding, stand on your HEAD in the shower with with a couple friends holding up your legs. Shoot COLD water at maximum pressure down your nostrils for 40 seconds or so……let’s see if you change you mind..

For every civilian we detain for years without trial or kill by accident, we create 20-50 people seeking vengence. I suggest we get out of those hell-hole countries post-haste and spend 10% of the money we’d save militarily for better facial recognition and no-fly lists to make sure we don’t have any organized terror suspects coming into the US in the first place.

WhoRunIt

February 22nd, 2010
1:00 am

OK Tuna, so waterboarding sucks but it’s not quite like you’re describing. It is an effective interrogation technique. It’s designed to induce panic. It’s designed to obtain information from insane people who WANT to die in order to cause death to Americans. Do some research. Here i’ll get you started.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PjjMnT1xs4&NR=1&feature=fvwp

Honest Abe was a "good" Republican

February 23rd, 2010
3:16 am

Prez Lincoln was willing to take risks to keep the U.S. together. He CARED about the people as a whole. That is a complete flip-flop compared to the “vicious circle” Republicans who not only put down their own party, but anyone else who DARES to speak the truth about them. “Conservative” Republicans in Congress from 1995 on are the ones who created the mess we are in now. Cheney could have captured Bin Ladin 2 months after 9-11, but pulled back the troops when they were close. “Conservative” Republicans have filibustered and stopped over 80% of all legislation – more good than bad – from passing. Several years ago they did the same and gave away to Canada our Gold mining rights – a 10 million dollar industry – for only $10,000. The rabid republicans of today are the biggest losers and dividers of the U.S. Also, my father is a 91 yr old WW II AF vet, a Colonel, who was in intelligence in Austria, Berlin and Italy and interrogated Nazis and Communists. He’s always been a vehement Republican, but he has refused to become involved with this type of Republicanism that is ruining the country.

Honest Abe was a "good" Republican

February 23rd, 2010
3:19 am

As far as Cheney goes, he’s got his hands in Halliburton – you betcha! Halliburton has made billions off the backs of good soldiers in this war. Cheney is smiling all the way to the bank. Do you think he really WANTS to end this war? His buddy Bush is raking in the cash off the oil crisis. Notice how when it was time for Bush to “retire” from the Presidency in 2008, gas prices started to go back down?

Black Republican

February 23rd, 2010
11:15 am

Okay, so waterboarding may be torture to some people (I personally don’t think so). But, what is worse? Cutting off the heads of U.S. servicemen, women, and contractors or waterboarding? Waterboarding is FAR LESS invasive than decapitating someone.

Rob Lopez

February 23rd, 2010
12:55 pm

Black Republican’

I have served my country for over 20 years and I know what it feels like to give life saving aid to an enemy who just killed one of my best friends. This is what separates true Americans from radicals in this world. We must be held to higher moral standard and not become barbaric! This should put an end to this blog in my view

Rob

mike

February 23rd, 2010
1:53 pm

If waterboarding terrorists saves one American life, I’m all for it!