No doubts about Charen’s ignorance

I read with utter dismay and disgust the Saturday column by Mona Charen: “Democrats’ torture rants mislead the world.” Ms. Charen states: “I have severe doubts as to whether waterboarding constitutes torture.” Thank you, Ms. Charen, for clearly revealing your ignorance of this issue.

After World War II the U.S. government prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding U.S. soldiers. Furthermore, the Army Field Manual expressly prohibits waterboarding and classifies it as torture. Need more convincing Ms. Charen? Write to me and I will purchase airline tickets for you and your family. We will fly you and your family to Syria so you can witness your children and your spouse undergo waterboarding. You can then write about your personal experiences with waterboarding. We’ll see if you can gain some clarity on this issue.

Ms. Charen played that tired old Republican card of blaming the discussion of torture as misleading the world. Isn’t it misleading the world to say we are fighting for democracy and the rule of law, then condone torture because you doubt waterboarding constitutes torture after we’ve prosecuted others for the very same act? Ms. Charen’s ridiculous assertion that Democrats are somehow to blame for how the world views the United States is parallel to blaming the torture of Iraqis at the hands of Saddam Hussein on the United States simply for exposing it.

She would like to place the blame for a declining world view of the United States on those who want to do what democracy provides for and investigate with transparency instead of blaming the administration that ordered torture. That is so twisted that words cannot describe. The bottom line here is, Ms. Charen, if you support the use of waterboarding on enemy captives, you support the use of that torture on any future American captives. Any doubts, Ms. Charen?

Kevin Wruck