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has come to light due to the investigative journalism of Seymour Hersch and others.

It was those special interrogations that resulted in the abuses shown in photos taken in the Abu Guraib Prison in Iraq. That included forcing prisoners to be hooded and perform sexual and other physical hardships, be put on leashes and be treated like dogs, be subjected to humiliation (i.e. being forced to wear some else's dirty underwear over the face) and other deprivations. Prisoners there and elsewhere were inundated with loud noise or music, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, told their families were being tortured and forced to do painful exercises. Based on FOIA requests from the ACLU, it has been learned that several dozen prisoners had died due to mistreatment or homicide at these black sites by 2006. Within the US, such treatment would result in criminal charges, however because it happened overseas and was done under the authorization of the US president, the interrogators were never punished. In fact, they often received promotions or other inducements to encourage their cooperation in continuing the "harsh interrogations".

In truth, "waterboarding" is one of the most odious techniques utilized. It has been a known torture technique since days of the Spanish Inquisition. It has sometimes resulted in deaths while in custody, but since there is in no permanent evidence of physical mistreatment, the officials have always been able to escape consequences. Because there was no US tradition of using such techniques, the US used methods that had been documented as having been used by the former Soviet Union and often, interrogators were permitted to use their imagination to create new methods. In one case of documented sodomy, the interrogator avoided prosecution, because sodomy was not specifically prohibited by name. In another, the suspect was forced to wear shoes that were too small such that all the toenails turned black and blue and fell off. Since there are records of many of the abuses, we can expect that this American period will be remembered in history as one of great depravity, part of George W. Bush's legacy.

Why should the president be permitted to determine what constitutes torture and what does not? Is there something intrinsic to the holder of the office which guarantees superior judgement? If that were the case, no presidents would ever violate the law, but if only based on the case of Richard M. Nixon, we know that is not the case. Clearly, he broke the law

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