Texas Rep. Silvestre Reyes refuses to stop embarrassing himself. You remember Reyes, he's the House Democrat who was unable to distinguish between Sunni and Shia Islam and when asked, concluded that al-Qaeda was "probably" made up of "both" branches. He was nevertheless made head of the House Intelligence Committee, and he's now trying to convince us he knows as little about torture as he does about Islam. While urging Barack Obama to keep current CIA chief Mike McConnell (you know Mike, he has a habit of lying to Congress), Reyes casts himself as the reluctant torture advocate:
“We don’t want to be known for torturing people. At the same time we don’t want to limit our ability to get information that’s vital and critical to our national security,” he added. “That’s where the new administration is going to have to decide what those parameters are, what those limitations are.”
Spencer Ackerman shoots this down, but it's a fact worth repeating: Torture isn't just inhumane and unconstitutional, it provides faulty intelligence.
On a related note, Glenn Greenwald links to a bizarre piece on Pajamas' Media by someone named M.P. MacConnell from the right-wing American Center for Democracy who is upset that potential CIA head John Brennan was "derailed" by the netroots because of his positions on torture and extraordinary rendition:
Greenwald’s arguments against FISA, enhanced interrogation techniques, and rendition have not resulted in any Watergate-style revelations or repercussions. In those known cases where waterboarding was utilized, it was done with the approval of the White House and Justice Department. It was only banned last year by the U.S. Congress, and retroactive legal protection has been granted to those agencies which used the approved methods in the past.
Frank Langella "Nixon" voice: When the President does it, it's not illegal.
-- A. Serwer
