More C.I.A. Torture Revelations

Today’s article in The New York Times is titled, “Waterboarding Used 183 Times on One Suspect.” It provided more information about the torturing of Abu Zubaydah than previously reported.

The new information was discovered in a footnote to four memos about the tactics of the Bush administration in interrogating Al Qaeda suspects. It is shocking that this technique was used so many times on one person and emphasives the arguments by critics that once you open the Pandora’s box of torture, things tend to slide rapidly downhill.

The idea that the United States would resort to such methods and to such a degree robs us of all moral authority vis-a-vis oppresive regimes around the world. They can just declare “national security,” as we did, and we would have no credible response.

President Obama is going to visit C.I.A. headquarters today and will probably reiterate his pledge not to prosecute any agents because they believed they were acting legally.

This argument doesn’t hold water. It is the argument used by underlings throughout time and was thoroughly rejected during the Nuremburg trials: “I was just following orders.”

In any case, the article suggests that some of the waterboarding even exceeded the generous outlines supplied by the Justice Department. These actions demand a response, and the only response to restore our credibility is to hold the perpetrators, yes, perpetrators, responsible.

One of our nation’s most valuable tenets, “the rule of law,” is at stake.