Religion & Law

There are many things wrong with the values reflected in American political culture and yes, some of those wrongs have become even further entrenched under President Obama.  But for whatever else he accomplished that was good, President Bush's legacy will always carry a significant black mark for (among other things), his cowboy-cavalier attitude with which he disregarded the human dignity of non-Americans in the course of carrying out a war against terror.   Exhibit #235 [deleted as unnecessary snark] comes from his memoir:

Bush recounts being asked by the CIA whether it could proceed with waterboarding Mohammed, who Bush said was suspected of knowing about still-pending terrorist plots against the United States. Bush writes that his reply was "Damn right" and states that he would make the same decision again to save lives . . . .

The notion that waterboarding saved lives has been denied by our allies.  As for whether this all turns on good-faith hand-wringing about whether waterboarding amounts to torture, David Luban explains:

The legal definition of torture is just twenty years old, and - to say the least - torture cases raising the issue of where to draw the boundary between "severe" and "not severe" aren?t popping up on the dockets of courts the world over like slip-and-fall cases. This isn?t a question for lawyers. This is a question of common sense. Let?s stop being ridiculous.



So: does waterboarding inflict severe suffering? If you want to do a quick, common-sense reality check, try this. Blow all the air out of your lungs. Then stare at your watch and try not to inhale for ninety seconds by the clock. Then take one quick half-breath and immediately do it again. Now imagine that you?re tied down while you?re doing it and water is pouring over your head and rolling up your nose. Or, if you?re really ambitious, get in the shower and turn it on and try the same hold-your-breath-with-no-air-in-your-lungs experiment with your head tilted up and the water pouring up your nose. Then decide for yourself whether it?s severe suffering.

On some issues, President Bush has been targeted for blame unfairly.  This is not one of them.