Debate Dies Down... For Now

Now that Dianne Feinstein and Charles Schumer have pledged break party ranks and vote to confirm Mukasey-- virtually assuring Mukasey's confirmation as AG-- the tempest over his stance on waterboarding and the national debate over US torture have begun to quiet down. Well, it was good while it lasted-- any debate on the American use of torture is healthy and vital.
Perhaps the most interesting-- and strangest-- item to emerge the last few days is this: an article revealing that former acting assistant attorney general, Daniel Levin, actually waterboarded himself to find out if the act constituted torture. According to ABC News:

Levin told White House officials that even though he knew he wouldn't die, he found the experience terrifying and thought that it clearly simulated drowning. Levin, who refused to comment for this story, concluded waterboarding could be illegal torture unless performed in a highly limited way and with close supervision. And, sources told ABC News, he believed the Bush Administration had failed to offer clear guidelines for its use.

His conclusion-- in some ways like Mukasey's own comments on waterboarding-- are a bit of a hedge themselves. Waterboarding apparently is not torture if its performed in a "highly limited way and with close supervision"? I am sure the fact that he volunteered to be waterboarded, and knew it was being performed by trained SERE professionals, shaped his experience. Those that are waterboarded in real-life situations tell quite a different tale:

The sufferer of water torture who stood out most for Dr. Keller was an Ethiopian, a man so traumatized that “when he’d go out in the rain, he’d gasp for air — or even in the shower.”

“He’d just panic,” the doctor said.