Torture under Obama | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary

Torture under Obama | Nat Hentoff | Cato Institute: Commentary: "In August, Holder's task force on interrogation, commissioned by the president, 'recommended no changes' to the Army Field Manual, thereby retaining the torture loopholes focused on now by the tracker of al-Zarqawi.

To begin, an appendix to the Manual allows a detainee (a.k.a. prisoner) to be kept in solitary confinement indefinitely. As Alexander point out, 'extended solitary confinement is torture, as confirmed by many scientific studies.' And the prestigious Manual allows suspects just four hours sleep in 24 hours. 'As if this wasn't enough,' Alexander continues, a loophole permits interrogators, Mr. President, 'to give a detainee four hours of sleep — and then conduct a 20-hour interrogation, after which they can 'reset' the clock and begin another 20-hour interrogation followed by four hours of sleep.'"

"Until this change in the Army Field Manual, Alexander points out, an interrogator going beyond 20 straight hours of interrogation (as if that weren't inhumane enough) was referred to as 'monstering' in that line of work."

"According to General Washington, 'Should any American soldier be so base and infamous as to injure any prisoner ... by such conduct they bring shame, disgrace and ruin to themselves and their country.'

What Washington meant by 'such conduct' was the brutal, vicious ways the British army was interrogating their American prisoners. George Washington was The Army Field Manual during our Revolutionary War."