The UK Foreign office thinks that waterboarding - drowning someone till they talk - does not necessarily constitute torture. This despite a ban in international law on mock executions.
One of the worries about the US's acceptance of torture was that it would set a bad example to other states. I think we've just seen that fear realised. If the UK is willing to follow the US lead, then imagine what China, Cuba, and Uzbekistan will be thinking...
Yeah, but now they have an excusse. After all, if the US and UK think its OK...
ReplyDeleteThis is going to make it a lot more difficult for human rights campaigners to get progress out of those countries where it is desperately needed. And the blame for that can be laid squarely at the feet of Bush and Blair.
An additional problem being that our own government now refuses to speak against torture by anyone so as to avoid speaking of torture by the US.
ReplyDeleteThey don't speak much about freedom from arbitrary arrest (of which we have one of our own), military occupations, and WMD treaties any more either, for the same basic reason.