The big headline from the Eric Holder nomination wasn’t, as it should have been, that he misled the Committee about his role in the Marc Rich pardon. Instead all anyone could talk about was the pronouncement he and Democrats scripted in order to signal a break with the Bush administration: “waterboarding is torture.”
I still say that the definition of torture cannot possibly include anything that people are willing to endure in order to protest it. I posted an example before and pointed out that the guy in the video actually paid $800 to have it done and then laughed about it a few minutes later.
A quick YouTube search reveals that there is apparently a long line of leftists, including Christopher Hitchens, who are perfectly happy to be “tortured” on video to demonstrate how unacceptable waterboarding is supposed to be.
Holder’s pronouncement is more than just wrong. It’s dangerous. From Andy McCarthy at The Corner:
Holder increased the pressure he will face to take action against Bush officials … by gratuitously opining that waterboarding is torture, something AG Mukasey refused to do—even though it turned what should have been an easy confirmation into a horse-race—precisely because he [Mukasey] refused to imperil with reckless remarks American officials who had taken action in defense of this country. As I noted earlier, a UN official is now demanding prosecution of President Bush and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld on the theory that the U.S. solemnly pledged to prosecute all torturers in its jurisdiction when it ratified the UN Convention Against Torture (and a quick perusal of Articles 6 and 7 of that treaty indicates that this is not a flimsy theory). By declaring waterboarding to be torture, Holder has not only set himself (and us) up for this claim, he has increased the likelihood that foreign governments will try to prosecute Bush, Rumsfeld and others under the treaty. Nice job—good to see his judgment has really improved since those pardons.
Real torture causes excruciating pain and permanent, disfiguring injuries. Real torture isn’t something reasonable people can disagree about. It’s obvious. It’s bloody. It’s illegal, and it’s wrong. You don’t see people lining up to have it done to them on camera just to make a point.
I’m still flabbergasted that the Democrats’ anti-waterboarding fetish gets so much attention and support. In the free world, we wring our hands over imposing a few minutes of discomfort and fear on a few of the worst terrorists on the planet. In a way it’s good. That’s what makes our way of life better than the world that the terrorists want to impose through mass murder.
I just wish Democrats could make their arguments for coddling terrorists without torturing the language. When the soon-to-be Attorney General uses the wrong word, it could have some serious consequences.
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