Hey Mukasey, waterboarding is torture!
January 31st 2008 03:36
Attorney General Michael Mukasey appeared before the Senate’s Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2008 during the first oversight hearing for the Justice Department since Mukasey became the attorney general.
“Given that waterboarding is not part of the current program and may never be added to the current program, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to pass definitive judgment on the technique’s legality,” Mukasey said to the Committee.
In a letter to the Committee the night before, Mukasey stated that waterboarding is not illegal, and might be used against terrorism suspects again if the White House requests it.
Senator Patrick Leahy, head of the Committee, said, “Never mind that we prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding Americans during World War II. Never mind that this is the practice of repressive regimes around the world.”
Leahy point6ed out that the former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and the director of national intelligence, Mike McConnel both called waterboarding torture.
When Leahy asked Mukasey if he agree with Ridge and McConnel, he replied, “I understood what they said to express their personal points of view. The one thing that separates me from them is that I’m the attorney general, and they’re not, that when I pronounce on the reach of general legal principles, that is taken as a statement of how far those principles…”
Leahy interrupted him, asking, “So you disagree with them?”
“They expressed their personal view,” Mr. Mukasey answered.
Senator Edward Kennedy asked him, “Would waterboarding be torture if it was done to you?”
“I would feel that it was,” Mr. Mukasey replied.
World War Two Japanese military members convicted for using waterboarding
After World War One the U.S. convicted several Japanese soldiers for using waterboarding on American and other Allied prisoners of war. One of their victims, Chase J. Nielsen, testified at their trial.
"I was given several types of torture. . . . I was given what they call the water cure,” Nielsen said.
After being asked how he felt during the ordeal, he replied, “Well, I felt more or less like I was drowning…just gasping between life and death.”
The U.S. organized and participated in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also called the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. During the trial, an allied victim of waterboarding testified about his ordeal:
A towel was fixed under the chin and down over the face. Then many buckets of water were poured into the towel so that the water gradually reached the mouth and rising further eventually also the nostrils, which resulted in his becoming unconscious and collapsing like a person drowned. This procedure was sometimes repeated 5-6 times in succession.
During another trial a Filipino victim of waterboarding by a low ranking member of the Japanese military testified:
Q: Was it painful?
A: Not so painful, but one becomes unconscious. Like drowning in the water.
Q: Like you were drowning?
A: Drowning -- you could hardly breathe.
“Given that waterboarding is not part of the current program and may never be added to the current program, I don’t think it would be appropriate for me to pass definitive judgment on the technique’s legality,” Mukasey said to the Committee.
In a letter to the Committee the night before, Mukasey stated that waterboarding is not illegal, and might be used against terrorism suspects again if the White House requests it.
Senator Patrick Leahy, head of the Committee, said, “Never mind that we prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding Americans during World War II. Never mind that this is the practice of repressive regimes around the world.”
Leahy point6ed out that the former Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge and the director of national intelligence, Mike McConnel both called waterboarding torture.
When Leahy asked Mukasey if he agree with Ridge and McConnel, he replied, “I understood what they said to express their personal points of view. The one thing that separates me from them is that I’m the attorney general, and they’re not, that when I pronounce on the reach of general legal principles, that is taken as a statement of how far those principles…”
Leahy interrupted him, asking, “So you disagree with them?”
“They expressed their personal view,” Mr. Mukasey answered.
Senator Edward Kennedy asked him, “Would waterboarding be torture if it was done to you?”
“I would feel that it was,” Mr. Mukasey replied.
World War Two Japanese military members convicted for using waterboarding
After World War One the U.S. convicted several Japanese soldiers for using waterboarding on American and other Allied prisoners of war. One of their victims, Chase J. Nielsen, testified at their trial.
"I was given several types of torture. . . . I was given what they call the water cure,” Nielsen said.
After being asked how he felt during the ordeal, he replied, “Well, I felt more or less like I was drowning…just gasping between life and death.”
The U.S. organized and participated in the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, also called the Tokyo War Crimes Trials. During the trial, an allied victim of waterboarding testified about his ordeal:
A towel was fixed under the chin and down over the face. Then many buckets of water were poured into the towel so that the water gradually reached the mouth and rising further eventually also the nostrils, which resulted in his becoming unconscious and collapsing like a person drowned. This procedure was sometimes repeated 5-6 times in succession.
During another trial a Filipino victim of waterboarding by a low ranking member of the Japanese military testified:
Q: Was it painful?
A: Not so painful, but one becomes unconscious. Like drowning in the water.
Q: Like you were drowning?
A: Drowning -- you could hardly breathe.
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