Red Line Rants submits It's A Legal Memo:
"What do you think of placing a black or navy hood over a prisoner'sPosted by Simon at June 25, 2004 02:30 AM
head, keeping it there except for during an interrogation? How about "wall standing?" You know, forcing prisoners to stand spread eagle against the wall, fingers high above their heads, feet back so that they are standing on their toes and all of their weight falls on their fingers? What about keeping a prisoner in a room prior to his interrogation where he hears a loud and continuous hissing noise? Sleep deprivation? Deprivation of food and drink (reduced diet)? Does this sound like torture to you? Well, somebody doesn't think so."Who is it?
"That's right; the all-loving, all-knowing, compassionate Europeans. The European Court of Human Rights in Ireland v. United Kingdom (1978) concluded that these techniques, whether used in combination or applied for hours at a time, were inhuman and degrading… but not torture. And I happen to agree. But I’m a heartless Republican; of course I would.
"This post has been prompted by the coverage of the so-called "torture memo," something I've wanted to write about for a few days now. What’s struck me as odd about the debates over this – a Justice Department legal memo regarding interrogation methods – is that it is just that: a legal memo. A memo that pulls together all of the disparate sources of information, definitions, and concepts, be they laws or court decisions, on what can loosely be called "torture" or interrogation."