Kristol: “Ambivalent on Torture”

By Eric on February 13, 2008

By now it’s no secret that the American people just can’t get a straight answer from the Bush Administration on whether or not waterboarding is torture, but the answer we do get isn’t usually as blunt as what Bill Kristol said on “A Daily Show” last night:

I’m ambivalent on torture, I’ve got to say. I’m a bit of a squish on torture. I respect Senator McCain and he says it’s unwise and unnecessary and wrong for the U.S. to do. On the other hand, it does seem that the three people who seem to have been waterboarded, gave up, perhaps, very important information that may have prevented further attacks. So I think it would be a tough call, if you, one were in a position of responsibility, in all honesty.

He’s ambivalent on whether or not we should be torturing people. It’s not even the “question” of waterboarding, this is straight-up, however-you-define-it torture! The thing that resulted in the convictions of Japanese soldiers after World War II. The thing that ex-Liberian president Charles Taylor’s son is being tried for right now. This is what Bill Kristol thinks about and says, “Golly gee, I’m just not sure what to do!”

As for his defense, with which Supreme Court “Justice” Antonin Scalia agrees, that waterboarding has produced evidence that has prevented terror attacks, even the FBI isn’t sure if the evidence obtained from Abu Zubaida (one of the three men the CIA admits to waterboarding) is reliable. Terrorism experts have been saying for years that torturing suspects “often produces false information because people subjected to waterboarding will tell their interrogators anything to stop it,” and even Colin Powell has said that using torture “would put our soldiers at risk.” If Bill Kristol is so sure that he supports our troops, how is he still “ambivalent” on torture?

Tags: Bill Kristol, The Daily Show, torture, waterboarding

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