[sickoflibs]

RE :”Well why don’t you have a buddy do it to you or someone you love like your mom or your kid a few times and if you still wouldn’t call it torture then I’ll freely concede the point.
.........
Pinging some people to see what they think.”

After all this time debating this issue is similar to debated the firing of General McArther, an topic earlier today. Its history book stuff.

But I recall that by 2007 and 2008 Bush and Cheney's policies were polling toxic, especially Iraq.

But no matter how many times Dems would call it ‘Immoral torture’, the water-boarding of terrorists to get time critic info remained popular, in fact I recall a poll in Bush second term saying that the majority supported using torture to stop a terrorist attack.

Wasn't it a short term crisis response that ended early on?
Is the Obama drone policy more compassionate?

[sickoflibs]

Water-boarding for the purpose that it was reported as used t never caused a political backlash, it was seen as effected crisis control.

The big problem was the US invasion, occupation, re-building, imposing Democracy and policing Muslim crapholes like Iraq, with no good way out.

That is what turned Americans isolationist.
Like Woodrow Wilson and WWI. Till the Japs bombed the US was isolationist after that.