Oh the humanity...or inhumanity...or the drowning of the humanity by the inhumane...WHAT A GASBAG!
Posted on 01/07/2005 5:37:23 AM PST by Jeff Blogworthy
In a fit of irony, Sen. Ted Kennedy, in yesterday's Senate Judiciary Committee's hearings on the nomination of Alberto R. Gonzales to be attorney general, grilled Gonzales on the concept of "Waterboarding."
KENNEDY: Now, the Post article states you chaired several meetings at which various interrogation techniques were discussed. These techniques included the threat of live burial and waterboarding, whereby the detainee is strapped to a board, forcibly pushed under water, wrapped in a wet towel and made to believe he might drown. The article states that you raised no objection, and without consulting military and State Department experts -- they were not consulted, they were not invited to important meetings -- they might have been important to some, but we know what Secretary Taft has said about his exclusion from these -- experts in laws of torture and war (prove/approve ?) the resulting memo this gave CIA interrogators the legal blessings they sought. Now, was it the CIA that asked you?Apparently, Ted Kennedy is oblivious to the irony of saying that "I certainly wouldn't have had a part of [almost drowning someone, as a human being." Yeah; you would have made sure to do the job right and really drown them, right?KENNEDY: Could you just -- I want to point out, if it's true, as the Post reported, that you held several meetings at which the legality of interrogation techniques, such as threat of live burial and water boarding were discussed. Do you remember that?
GONZALES: Senator, I have a recollection that we had some discussions in my office. But let me be very clear with the committee: It is not my job to decide which type of methods of obtaining information from terrorists would be most effective.
GONZALES: That job of responsibility falls to folks within the agencies. It is also not my job to make the ultimate decision about whether or not those methods would in fact meet the requirements of the anti- torture statute. That would be a job for the Department of Justice. And I never influenced or pressured the department to bless any of these techniques. I viewed it as their responsibility to make the decision as to whether or not a procedure or method of questioning of these terrorists that an agency wanted would, in fact, be lawful.
KENNEDY: Well, just as an attorney, as a human being, I would have thought that if there were recommendations that were so blatantly and flagrantly over the line in terms of torture, that you might have recognized them. I mean, it certainly appears to me that water boarding, with all its descriptions about drowning someone to that kind of a point, would come awfully close to getting over the border, and that you'd be able to at least say today, There were some that were recommended or suggested on that, but I certainly wouldn't have had a part of that, as a human being. But as I understand you are saying now that no matter what they recommended or what they discussed, there was not going to be anything in there that was going to be too bad or too outrageous for you to at least to raise some objection.
H/T to Ann Coulter on Don Imus' show this morning. (MSNBC)
Waterboarding....being held underwater...was Ted having flashbacks to Chappaquiddick???
This isn't Ted "The Swimmer" Kennedy, is it? That is ironic. I always thought "waterboarding" was when you boarded a vehicle driven by Ted Kennedy.
You know, someday SOME republican nominee has to finally just say: "Listen, Mr. Kennedy, I am sorry, but I really see no reason to be treated this way by a sanctimonius drunk driver who left a girl to drown in a submerged car. When you can show that I let someone die in a crime, come back and ask questions. But until then, I prefer to discuss the issues with people of character."
"Senator Kennedy; regarding waterboarding...more people have died in your Oldsmobile than have died in Abu Graib at the hands of the Americans."
"Senator Kennedy; regarding waterboarding...more people have died in your Oldsmobile than have died in Abu Graib at the hands of the Americans."
Server's a bit slow this AM.... sorry for double post. ;^(
It was worth saying twice!
Well said BLL. On that day, I will celebrate like I've never done before.
FMCDH(BITS)
Back in 1989, when Fat Teddy was sanctimoniously lecturing Senator John Tower (GHW Bush nominee for Sec of Defense) about drinking and womanizing, I vocalized my wish that Tower would get fed up with it and said something like "Mr. Senator, I cannot claim to be a saint or without fault, but I have never been so drunk while out womanizing that I drove off a bridge and drowned any of my partners."
You can't make this stuff up!
This from the lips of a slime-sucking, long distance swimmer who left a woman to die in his automobile!
Kennedys are a gaggle of bottom-feeding carp who make careers out of sucking up the droppings on the bottom.
And another thing. I saw this piece of crud on C-Span firing questions at the nominee for DOE and I couldn't help but wonder just what Ted did with his nose.
It's gone.
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