I found it curious that Obama, in his 100 days televised speech this past week, tacitly implied that torture works. He said that he disapproves of torture not because it doesn't work, but because "it's not who we are." It works, but its morally objectionable. Or something. All very parsed, and nuanced.
Quote:
OBAMA: What I've said -- and I will repeat -- is that waterboarding violates our ideals and our values. I do believe that it is torture. I don't think that's just my opinion; that's the opinion of many who've examined the topic. And that's why I put an end to these practices.
I am absolutely convinced it was the right thing to do, not because there might not have been information that was yielded by these various detainees who were subjected to this treatment, but because we could have gotten this information in other ways, in ways that were consistent with our values, in ways that were consistent with who we are.
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I wonder what other ways of intelligence gathering he's talking about.