Team America World Police: Torture Edition "We do not torture", the president proclaimed to the world. Does anyone actually believe him, even his most strident supporters? As Jon Stewart said, Americans are being asked to believe either a) their eyes b) their ears, or c)the President. Today, the NYT reported the following under the heading "Classified Report Warned on C.I.A.'s Tactics in Interrogation" A classified report issued last year by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general warned that interrogation procedures approved by the C.I.A. after the Sept. 11 attacks might violate some provisions of the international Convention Against Torture, current and former intelligence officials say. The previously undisclosed findings from the report, which was completed in the spring of 2004, reflected deep unease within the C.I.A. about the interrogation procedures, the officials said. A list of 10 techniques authorized early in 2002 for use against terror suspects included one known as waterboarding, and went well beyond those authorized by the military for use on prisoners of war. Read It: We all know torture has, and is being inflicted in our name. The only remaining card to play for the conservative pro-torture crowd is to argue that torture is appropriate in some circumstances. At this point, the right wing quasi-intelligencia respond with the following doomsday scenario: What if the police capture someone ‘known’ to have a ticking a-bomb secreted somewhere in a major city, and ‘know’ they have only 24 hours to get the location before it goes off. In this scenario, they argue, torture is a necessary evil to protect the common good. Let's assume that such a hypothetical situation could actually occur. Does this then justify us codifying torture as the law of the land as Cheney would prefer? John McCain doesn't think so, and neither do I. Here's how he responded to this scenario in response to questioning from CNN's Soledad O'Brien: O'Brien: Aren't there examples, though -- where are examples, maybe, where torture is the only option left? MCCAIN: Well, first of all, torture doesn't work, as we have proved. Second of all, if there was a one in a million situation where that would happen, then the president would take responsibility for it. The Bush Administation's position, in capsule form, is this: Torture isn't happening. Take our word for it. If someone can prove it is taking place, it's justified. Therefore, nobody needs to know about it, or hold us accountable for it. In any event, it can be demonstrably proved the president is a liar. As soon as we have a majority in the Congress, Democrats should press for an impeachment.