American Torture

A leading article in this week's The Economist makes an interesting, yet alarming, read for any liberal or libertarian fond of both human rights and the United States.

“This week saw the sad spectacle of an American president lamely trying to explain to the citizens of Panama that, yes, he would veto any such [anti-torture] bill but, no, ‘We do not torture.’ Meanwhile, Mr Bush's increasingly error-prone vice-president, Dick Cheney, has been across on Capitol Hill trying to bully senators to exclude America's spies from any torture ban. To add a note of farce to the tragedy, the administration has had to explain that the CIA is not torturing prisoners at its secret prisons in Asia and Eastern Europe—though of course it cannot confirm that such prisons exist.”

When the good guys begin to use the bad guys' methods it is time to get scared.