Waterboarding, Just water boarding

[Rex Brynen]

Personal value judgment. Let the U.S. Congress (a) define waterboarding (b) determine if it is illegal under international and/or U.S. law and (c) act accordingly.

I have no problem with this (although, under IHL, individual states have no right to "legalize" that which is internationally prohibited).

Actually, I live in the Mid East off and on, and speak Arabic. Having mingled with Arabs from all walks of life, waterboarding, Abu Ghraib, etc. is only an issue among Western liberals. Arabs think of us a far too genteel and naive in many aspects. The greatest grievance among many Arabs towards my dear Uncle Sam is that they cannot get visas to America.

I was working in Gaza when the Abu Ghraib scandal broke. The anger was real, and virtually universal. Those in SWC who served in Iraq are better placed than I to say whether Iraqis were upset or it was simply a western, liberal non-story.

I suspect we're never going to agree on this one, so I'll leave it there.

[Shivan]

Yes, we will not agree on the waterboarding issue.

The Gaza crowd is hardly illustrative of Arab thought. They hate us, and along with their West Bank cohorts, had a fine celebration on 9/11 as I recall.

One must also account for how much genuine passion there exists for issues, and how much is whipped up by Arab/Western presses and anti-American leaders.