Waterboarding, an international crime?

Question

After WW2, an international tribunal was set up to prosecute the various Japanese commanders who had tortured Allied prisoners. One particular charge was the enhanced interogation technique called waterboarding. In fact some POW commandants were found guilty of using this technique and imprisoned, and in some cases, hung. So will an international tribunal seek out Pres. Bush and others who authorize /utilize waterboarding and prosecute them?

Answer 1

The fact is that usually, the victors make up the rules of punishment for the losers, so it is unlikely that BushCo will ever face international charges.

But they should.

I would support an international investigation/trial of war crimes committed by members of the Bush administration: Bush, Cheney, Condi, Rummy and Wolfowicz in particular.

Answer 2

Or, we could just let nuclear war happen. But it's ok! No one was injured in the making of the nuclear bomb. Give me a break. Or break some noses, legs, kneecaps or whatever else is needed to be done for the sake of the protection of American lives. I have been through SERE school and just so you know, waterboarding sucks, but I've never once had a nightmare from it. We have a bunch of p*ssies that want everything all fine and dandy for others, but when something does happen, they whine and b*tch that something wasn't done.

Answer 3

As I understand it, the tribunals to which you are referring included waterboarding as an aspect of a pattern of torture and NOT as a tool for interrogation.  So, your comparison is a bit off.

Answer 4

Why is waterboarding so terrible? Listen, if lives are at stake, I fully supports bringing out all the instruments of the Spanish Inquisition that we still have in museums and using them on prisoners. Obviously, torture for torture's sake is wrong. But there is nothing wrong with getting information out of somebody by any means possible, if it means saving innocent people's lives.

Besides, how does waterboarding really harm these prisoners? Does it kill them? Does it maim them for life? Since when is inducing the sensation of drowning a cruel and unusual interrogation? Isn't it just scaring them out of their minds? How about we make them watch "The Exorcist" instead? Give me a break, and bring out the thumbscrews.