Waterboarding is torture. Period.

In the reporting on the fallout concerning John Brennan’s withdrawal from consideration for a position in the Obama administration we are again reminded of the sad state of our press:

(link via Glenn Greenwald)

Potential CIA chief cites critics in ending bid

November 26, 2008 – 5:16am

By PAMELA HESS

Associated Press Writer

…A person familiar with the discussions said Obama’s advisers had grown increasingly concerned in recent days over Web logs that accused Brennan of condoning harsh interrogation tactics, including waterboarding, which critics call torture…

[emphasis added]

Idiot reporter. It’s not “critics” who call waterboarding torture, it’s the United States Government (and everyone else) in their prosecution of World War II war criminals for waterboarding prisoners of war and civilian detainees who are the ones calling waterboarding torture. Idiot reporter.

(from A Small Clique Of Legal Extremists…)

Changi Prison, October 1943

…The Japanese were trying to establish that there was a spy organization in Changi Prison which received and transmitted by radio telephony, which had established contacts in the town for the purpose of sabotage and [12937] stirring up of  anti-Japanese feeling, and which collected money from outside for this purpose. In fact, there was no organization, no radio transmission and no attempt to promote anti-Japanese activities outside the Camp…[12939]

…Usually interrogations started quietly and would continue as long as the inquisitors got the expected answers. If, for any reason, such answers were not forthcoming, physical violence was immediately…

…[12940] employed. The methods used were:

(1) Water Torture. There were two forms of water torture. In the first, the victim was tied or held down on his back and a cloth placed over his nose and mouth. Water was then poured on the cloth…

International Military Tribunal for the Far East – Proceedings, p. 12,936.

[emphasis added]

That is a textbook description of waterboarding. However “clinical” and “sophisticated” it has become, it does the same thing to the victim. It’s torture. The United States government prosecuted individuals as war criminals for torturing people by waterboarding them.

You’d think a well paid reporter could learn to do a little basic research. Nah, they’re lazy and they’ll just parrot someone else’s self-serving definition because their style of reporting demands that all opposing viewpoints are equal.

Idiot reporter. I weep for our country.