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Torture But Not That Bad For Torture

Christopher Hitchens volunteered to be waterboarded so he could describe it. His main points are:

(1) It counts as torture.
(2) As torture goes, it's not that bad (see below)
(3) We still shouldn't do it because it's torture

When contrasted to actual torture, waterboarding is more like foreplay. No thumbscrew, no pincers, no electrodes, no rack.

Can one say this of those who have been captured by the tormentors and murderers of (say) Daniel Pearl? On this analysis, any call to indict the United States for torture is therefore a lame and diseased attempt to arrive at a moral equivalence between those who defend civilization and those who exploit its freedoms to hollow it out, and ultimately to bring it down.

I myself do not trust anybody who does not clearly understand this viewpoint.

As reasonable as the three points are, it's uncommon I think for anyone to believe all 3. Am I wrong?

Full post as published by Expressio Unius on July 02, 2008 (boomark / email).