Lieberman Joins The Pro-Torture Ranks

Holy Joe has made it official, he's endorsed the practice of waterboarding, where the captors hold down their victim and pour water over them to simulate drowning. This is where the water is forced into your lungs and the burning sensation triggers an adrenaline rush that would make a blindfolded man want to bolt out of the predicament. According to Lieberman, a self-purported torture expert, this isn't as bad as "putting burning coals on someone's body." Yep, he actually said that.

From ThinkProgress:

Yesterday, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) “reluctantly acknowledged” that he doesn’t believe waterboarding is torture. According to the Connecticut Post, Lieberman downplayed the severity of the waterboarding because it doesn’t inflict permanent physical damage:

In the worst case scenario — when there is an imminent threat of a nuclear attack on American soil — Lieberman said that the president should be able to certify the use of waterboarding on a detainee suspected of knowing vital details of the plot.

“You want to be able to use emergency tech to try to get the information out of that person,” Lieberman said. […]

“It is not like putting burning coals on people’s bodies. The person is in no real danger. The impact is psychological,” Lieberman said.

So messing with someone's brain isn't as bad physically burning them? Why doesn't he tell that to our troops who come home in the thousands afflicted by PTSD? I'd love to see him defend that statement. Absolutely love it.