One would like to think that the Republican Party has advanced to the point in which a debate over torture would no longer be necessary, but we’re apparently not quite there yet. Given the circumstances, I suppose we should be pleased that there are still voices of opposition within the GOP at all.
Rudy Giuliani’s position on waterboarding has been incoherent, even by his standards. Last week, he suggested the torture tactic from the Spanish Inquisition could be utilized fairly, but it was dependent on “circumstances” and “who was doing it.” On Bloomberg TV over the weekend, Al Hunt told the former mayor that John McCain disagrees. Hunt asked Giuliani if he know more about torture than McCain.
“I can’t say that I do but I do know a lot about intensive questioning and intensive questioning techniques. After all, I have had a different experience than John. John has never been – he has never run city, never run a state, never run a government. He has never been responsible as a mayor for the safety and security of millions of people, and he has never run a law enforcement agency, which I have done.
“Now, intensive questioning works. If I didn’t use intensive questioning, there would be a lot of mafia guys running around New York right now and crime would be a lot higher in New York than it is. Intensive question has to be used. Torture should not be used. The line between the two is a difficult one.”
It’s hard to wade through all of this stupidity, but it certainly sounds as if Giuliani is saying he understands torture policy because he used “intensive” interrogation techniques against U.S. criminals in New York City. Indeed, he’s been talking like this for quite a while, boasting about his willingness to use “very aggressive techniques” on criminal suspects.
This not only raises a whole new wrinkle to Giuliani’s policy problems, it also drew a sharp rebuke from McCain.
On the latter point, the Arizona senator said what needed to be said.
The Republican debate over torture has become a debate over resumes, as John McCain warns from personal experience about the dangers of harsh questioning and Rudy Giuliani takes credit for his skill with it as a prosecutor.
“When someone says waterboarding is similar to harsh interrogation techniques used against the mafia in New York City, they do not have enough experience to lead our military,” McCain said Sunday night at a town-hall meeting here. […]
On Friday, McCain, a former POW, criticized pro-torture opponents who “chose to do other things when this nation was fighting its wars.”
For that matter, Giuliani’s comments about the kind of interrogation techniques that he personally approved just screams for some follow-up. What kind of tactics did he endorse, exactly?