President Bush: "We do not torture."

This is a picture of President Bush and Panama's President Martin Torrijos during a news conference in Panama City on Monday, November 7, 2005.



President Bush stated at the news conference:

"There's an enemy that lurks and plots and plans and wants to hurt America again," Bush said. "So you bet we will aggressively pursue them but we will do so under the law."

He declared, "We do not torture."

I would be greatly relieved at this revelation except for the fact that I read newspapers and watch the news. Otherwise, this was good news for America.

This is a picture of Army Pfc. Lynndie England at Abu Ghraib:



Using dog leashes with detainees is torture.

As the Washington Post reported on an FBI investigation of Guantanamo:

Detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were shackled to the floor in fetal positions for more than 24 hours at a time, left without food and water, and allowed to defecate on themselves, an FBI agent who said he witnessed such abuse reported in a memo to supervisors, according to documents released yesterday.

In memos over a two-year period that ended in August, FBI agents and officials also said that they witnessed the use of growling dogs at Guantanamo Bay to intimidate detainees -- contrary to previous statements by senior Defense Department officials -- and that one detainee was wrapped in an Israeli flag and bombarded with loud music in an apparent attempt to soften his resistance to interrogation.

That was torture also.

Or what of this story from CBS News from March 16, 2005:

At least 108 people have died in American custody in Iraq and Afghanistan, most of them violently, according to government data provided to The Associated Press. Roughly a quarter of those deaths have been investigated as possible abuse by U.S. personnel.

The evidence for torture is everywhere.

America must press the fight against terrorism around the world. But we cannot succumb to the temptation of torture and abuse. We cannot deceive our people and the rest of the world cannot be fooled.

We need new leadership in America. We need leadership that understands that America is not about torture. That we fight tough and we respect the basic standards that divide us from savagery. Lies just don't cut the mustard.

Bob