Bringing Torture Back: Romney Wants to Waterboard Again
So now Mitt Romney wants to bring waterboarding back?

An article buried on the bottom of page 13 of The New York Times on Friday revealed that Romney's national security team has recommended to him that he rescind President Obama's executive order barring torture.
The Times article, by the great Charlie Savage, also notes that Romney last December said he didn't think waterboarding was torture and that he would use techniques--isn't that a creepy word--that Obama refuses to use and that are not allowed by the Army manual.
This puts Romney squarely back in the sadistic Bush-Cheney camp.
And little wonder: Because many of the people on his national security team actually served in the Bush-Cheney administration and backed waterboarding and other kinds of brutalities.
This is not a lovely glimpse into what a Romney presidency would look like.
In fact, it's a horrifying flashback, and a reminder that the neocons and Cheneyites are just biding their time, waiting for their opportunity to abuse power once more.
This is what happens when there is impunity, as Professor Al McCoy of the University of Wisconsin argues. By not prosecuting Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld or Alberto Gonzales and other senior officials who designed the torture policy, and by not prosecuting the CIA agents who actually did the waterboarding, President Obama has left the door open for the torturers.
And they're lining up to get back in.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
So now Mitt Romney wants to bring waterboarding back?

An article buried on the bottom of page 13 of The New York Times on Friday revealed that Romney's national security team has recommended to him that he rescind President Obama's executive order barring torture.
The Times article, by the great Charlie Savage, also notes that Romney last December said he didn't think waterboarding was torture and that he would use techniques--isn't that a creepy word--that Obama refuses to use and that are not allowed by the Army manual.
This puts Romney squarely back in the sadistic Bush-Cheney camp.
And little wonder: Because many of the people on his national security team actually served in the Bush-Cheney administration and backed waterboarding and other kinds of brutalities.
This is not a lovely glimpse into what a Romney presidency would look like.
In fact, it's a horrifying flashback, and a reminder that the neocons and Cheneyites are just biding their time, waiting for their opportunity to abuse power once more.
This is what happens when there is impunity, as Professor Al McCoy of the University of Wisconsin argues. By not prosecuting Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld or Alberto Gonzales and other senior officials who designed the torture policy, and by not prosecuting the CIA agents who actually did the waterboarding, President Obama has left the door open for the torturers.
And they're lining up to get back in.
So now Mitt Romney wants to bring waterboarding back?

An article buried on the bottom of page 13 of The New York Times on Friday revealed that Romney's national security team has recommended to him that he rescind President Obama's executive order barring torture.
The Times article, by the great Charlie Savage, also notes that Romney last December said he didn't think waterboarding was torture and that he would use techniques--isn't that a creepy word--that Obama refuses to use and that are not allowed by the Army manual.
This puts Romney squarely back in the sadistic Bush-Cheney camp.
And little wonder: Because many of the people on his national security team actually served in the Bush-Cheney administration and backed waterboarding and other kinds of brutalities.
This is not a lovely glimpse into what a Romney presidency would look like.
In fact, it's a horrifying flashback, and a reminder that the neocons and Cheneyites are just biding their time, waiting for their opportunity to abuse power once more.
This is what happens when there is impunity, as Professor Al McCoy of the University of Wisconsin argues. By not prosecuting Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld or Alberto Gonzales and other senior officials who designed the torture policy, and by not prosecuting the CIA agents who actually did the waterboarding, President Obama has left the door open for the torturers.
And they're lining up to get back in.

