Certainly. I think he's talking about the effect of hyperbole on the general public.
You're right that hyperbole doesn't help the discourse, but I think we're talking about what's in the eye of the beholder.
A lot of people don't like the way these prisoners are being treated, and it's not just leftists trying to score political points.
Some of the things that are being done are probably illegal. For example, rendition to another country with the foreknowledge that the person will be tortured so as to get information from him -- that's blatantly against the law. People in the military have been prosecuted and convicted for waterboarding in the past. Etc.
You may think this is all wonderful but not everybody agrees with you.