Mukasey's skillful evasions on torture - - The Washington Times, America's Newspaper: "On television, and in the transcript of Attorney General Michael Mukasey's Jan. 30 testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, he certainly showed that he is semantically much more skilful in evading questions than his predecessor, Alberto Gonzales. But Mr. Mukasey also demonstrated that he will not restore the credibility of the Justice Department's commitment to the rule of law — under this administration.
Mr. Mukasey's continued refusal to say whether waterboarding is torture or to conduct a criminal investigation of its use by the CIA is ludicrous in the face of the newly published, heavily documented 849-page 'Torture and Democracy' by Professor Darius Rejali. In this history, including the present practices of torture, written by an internationally recognized expert on the subject, the definition, Mr. Attorney General, is plain: 'Waterboarding is forced drowning, interrupted, for the prisoner will die if the flow of water is not cut off in time.' And yet, on Jan. 6, the Associated Press reported the White House said waterboarding is legal."
Mr. Mukasey's continued refusal to say whether waterboarding is torture or to conduct a criminal investigation of its use by the CIA is ludicrous in the face of the newly published, heavily documented 849-page 'Torture and Democracy' by Professor Darius Rejali. In this history, including the present practices of torture, written by an internationally recognized expert on the subject, the definition, Mr. Attorney General, is plain: 'Waterboarding is forced drowning, interrupted, for the prisoner will die if the flow of water is not cut off in time.' And yet, on Jan. 6, the Associated Press reported the White House said waterboarding is legal."
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