Liz Cheney's appearance on MSNBC defending her father's policies on water boarding and other coercive interrogation techniques didn't get into some important distinctions about torture and its particular application. Interviewer Nora O'Donnell did make the point that the U.S. has prosecuted others for water boarding, and made the "our country as a moral beacon on torture will help protect our troops" argument.
But Cheney fairly effectively countered that when Al-Qaeda captures Americans, they cut their heads off.
Maybe the protection argument had more validity when we warred with other nations, but Cheney is probably correct that being the good guy isn't going to protect our troops from zealots.
But that's not the argument I'd make anyway.
Unless you aspire to becoming a monster, you should not engage in monstrous acts.
Oh, but water boarding isn't torture, says Cheney. It's practically basic training, since we use it in training special forces. I thought the difference between a training session and being in the hands of an enemy was obvious, but apparently not to the Cheney family.
