maxiep

I think you misunderstand the point I was trying to make. Sometimes I don't do a very good job at relating my thoughts, so let me try again. What I'm saying is that I believe John McCain has a line where he believes interrogation techniques become torture. Having experienced real torture, I'm certain he has a strong opinion as to where that line is. To him it's not a theoretical exercise; for five years of his life it was all too real.

No one in their right mind would be for the application of pain and suffering for the goal for "forcing false confessions". It's one of the reasons real torture is so notoriously ineffective--at some point people will say whatever they think you want to hear to make the torture stop. From my friends who have experienced the fun and games at Camp Peary, they say there are several techniques other than physical torture that are far more effective.

And you're going to have to define for me what exactly our "torture policy" is, since that sounds more like a bumper-sticker than a real description of what we're trying to do. As for the current policy's efficacy, there hasn't been a successful attack on home soil since September 11, 2001. I would find it hard to believe that they haven't tried nor that we haven't received intelligence from these prisoners that have helped us stop attacks. Ergo, I believe our current policy makes us safer.

As for what George Washington thought, we agree with him 100% still. However, you'll note that he was referring to uniformed soldiers. In fact, in his day it was even easier, because they wore brightly colored coats. Terrorists can't be classified the same way as uniformed soldiers. They hide among innocents and kill indiscriminantly. They only asked to be treated like those in uniform when they're captured.