Patrick Leahy: “More than 100 years ago, in 1901 and 1902, U.S. military commissions charged American officers with waterboarding…”

“More than 100 years ago, in 1901 and 1902, U.S. military commissions charged American officers with waterboarding detainees in the Philippines, and President Theodore Roosevelt wrote: Great as the provocation has been in dealing with foes who habitually resort to treachery, murder and torture against our men, nothing can justify the use of torture or inhuman conduct of any kind on the part of the American Army. This country's abhorrence for cruel treatment of detainees goes back further still to General George Washington who wrote of captured troops during the Revolutionary War: Treat them with humanity, and let them have no reason to complain of our copying the brutal example of the British Army in their treatment of our unfortunate brethren. Those are American standards and American values that should not be compromised. As RADM John Hutson, former Judge Advocate General of the Navy, testified to the Judiciary Committee: Other than perhaps the rack and thumbscrews, water-boarding is the most iconic example of torture in history. It has been repudiated for centuries. It's a little disconcerting to hear now that we're not quite sure where water-boarding fits in the scheme of things. I think we have to be very sure where it fits in the scheme of things.”