Waterboarding or splashing water So either Obama really doesnt believe that waterboarding is torture (like me) or he thinks it is not a major offense. Here is a NY Times article on Philip Mudd who was sometype of recent Obama nominee for a major role in Homeland Security. It turns out he was "highly involved" in enhance interrogation techniques. What "highly involved" means is not described.
I mean, if Obama really thought waterboarding was torture then why would he nominate this guy in the first place? At the worst he is making too big of a deal out of waterboarding and at best he is sending conflicting messages.
thoughts?
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/06/us/politics/06nominee...
ASHINGTON - The Obama administration's nominee to lead intelligence efforts at the Department of Homeland Security withdrew Friday after it became clear that lawmakers would raise questions about his role in the Bush administration's interrogation programs.
Philip Mudd, who has 24 years of intelligence experience, said in a letter to the White House that he worried that his nomination could become a "distraction" from President Obama's agenda.
Mr. Mudd is now a deputy in Federal Bureau of Investigation's counterterrorism unit. Before that, he was deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency's Counterterrorism Center. It was in the latter post that legislators believed Mr. Mudd became deeply involved with the government's enhanced interrogation efforts, including the use of the simulated drowning technique known as waterboarding.
A White House aide said the president was well aware of Mr. Mudd's links with interrogation programs that the Obama administration has described as torture. Still, the aide said Mr. Obama had complete confidence that Mr. Mudd was the best person for the Homeland Security post........
