He trumpets this line that nothing's happened in 8 years as if that shows his his 'enhanced interrogation policies' worked.
Perhaps I should start claiming that my anti-terror-attack t-shirt I wear around the house has worked (no terror attacks here, folks!)
No terror attacks in the US is surely more likely down to the fact that security and intelligence has been beefed up so significantly rather than some simplistic "we dunked him in a little water, and he spilled da' beans..."
Also the way this is framed around terror attacks in the states, as if the effects elsewhere are not worthy of consideration. Let's not forget, Dick, that the threat of terrorism
globally has significantly increased, or that large sections of Muslim opinion around the world have turned vehemently against the US in a way that only a portion was before, or that the decisions to attack Afghanistan and Iraq have been a wake-up call to other countries on Bush-Cheney's axis of evil to ratchet up their military defence capability.
Did anyone catch McCain on CBS shortly after that Cheney interview? He kind of (sort of) rediscovered his voice:
Quote:
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"I think the interrogations were in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the convention against torture that we ratified under President Reagan ... I think these interrogations, once publicized, helped al Qaeda recruit ... I think that the ability of us to work with our allies was harmed .... I believe that information, according go the FBI and others, could have been gained through other members."
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And the bottom line (assuming we consider it morally acceptable in the first place, of course) - that people will say anything under torture to make the interrogation stop. This always strikes me as such a blindingly obvious fact that you have to wonder if otherwise intelligent people like Cheney are using torture first and foremost as useful propaganda to the outside world rather than as an information-gathering technique for one individual. I'm quite sure it's very much in his interest (or he believes it's in America's interest, or the interest of American elites) that everyone knows
the Americans torture.
What will really make my blood boil is if a terror attack happens during Obama's time in office, and the Republicans and half the country blame it on Obama being soft about torture and weak on terror and security - as if the risk of blowback ended the minute Bush and Cheney left office. Unfortunately there are enough stupid, easily-led people around to ensure that such a belief will probably gain traction.
