George Bush waterboards his conscience!

British lives were saved by the use of information obtained from terrorist suspects by "waterboarding", according to former US President George W Bush. I heard him on the Today Programme, or rather a tape of his interview on NBC. He sounded his usual self. All nervous and jittery when pushed on the subject. He consulted lawyers and the lawyers said OK! But George has a conscience that's in overdrive when he gets these questions. He has tried to sound all macho and tough. Appeal to the bible belt, the Tea Party toughies, rednecks and bubbas, corporate machismos.

When George married he took up with his wife's nonconformist beliefs. But you can't take the Episcopalian out of the man. Maybe George should attend bible classes. "Now what would Jesus think of waterboarding, George?".

Tough one, that!

Cheney talks tough on torture!

Dick Cheney is an odd cove. He is of the split personality politician tendency. When it came to people having a go at his lesbian daughter for not playing the "game" of Republican politics, as the so-called Christian Right suggested, he quite rightly said it was none of their business. Dick Cheney is not one to mince his words.

However, when it comes to torturing your opponents in the War on Terror, all liberal ethics shoot out the window. Cheney views interrogation techniques such as water-boarding a success. He has no problem with causing someone to go half-way to St.Peter's Gates and back in a violent mock drowning. It's all a great success according to him.

Well, if I was half drowned, water in my lungs, panting for breath, with my brain spinning about, I think I might just summon up enough strength to mutter anything my tormentors wanted to know. Cheney has an odd idea about how to conduct interrogation.

Having spent the dying days of his vice-presidency denying such things happened, he now wants the world to recognise such barbarity as a "success". I'm sure the world will not do so and prefer President Obama's take on it all.

The CIA does a sterling job looking after the interests of the American people, but they need to be better than the people they are after. Obama is right and the CIA will respect his leadership and his support for them.

Dick Cheney and his water-boarding work is consigned to history!