Originally Posted by SteveZ

This whole "abuses" and "torture" diatribe intrigues me. There is no quantifiable definition. It's sort of like pornography and beauty - the "I'll know it when I see it" floating standard that ebbs and flows with the political tide.

Anything can be called "torture."

1. How about:
- Making someone feel like they are going to drown, but all the while the person is in no danger - is that torture?
- Keeping someone isolated from others so as to not allow corruption of testimony - is that torture?
- Embarrassment or cultural discomfort to any degree - is that torture?

2. How about:
- Breaking bones and not treating the injuries - is that torture?
- Physical beatings with fists and clubs - is that torture?
- Making injured people march long distances, and killing those who stumble - is that torture?
- Slave labor 12-16 hours a day, 7 days a week, ceasing only at death - is that torture?

Number 1 above is the most the US has actually done.
Number 2 is what our citizens have endured at the hands of opponents, specifically Japan, Germany, China, North Vietnam, USSR and Iraq.

Before we start calling our interrogation practices inhumane or "torture," take a hard and long look at what the international standard of behavior has been when it has been Americans as the recipients of opponent action. In every comparison, we are indeed the "kindler, gentler" folk.

Amen.