The Bush Administration promised to re-define the country’s position in the post-9-11 world and it can now count our Canadian cousins as part of the transformation. The Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs has included the United States on the infamous list of countries which torture prisoners. In the meantime, Republican Tom Ridge has stated that there is no question about waterboarding being a form of torture.
The Canadians now include the United States with Afghanistan, China, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and Syria — our fellow pro-torture nations. There was of course a time when the United States led the world in a campaign against torture. In seven years, the Bush Administration has succeeded in converting the United States from the victim of 9-11 to the status of a rogue nation.
The Canadians have support for their position from an international chorus of lawyers and human rights experts — and now the first secretary of the Homeland Security Department. Republican Tom Ridge told reporters this week that “There’s just no doubt in my mind — under any set of rules — waterboarding is torture.” For the Ridge story, click here
For the full story, click here