This post has been updated.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said that torture is “unambiguously” wrong but blamed Democrats for highlighting the tactics used by CIA after 9/11.
Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering asked Cruz about the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture.
“Do you think that what occurred after 9/11 hurt our moral authority?” Spiering asked.
Cruz reponded by criticizing the release of the report as political and condemning the harsh interrogation tactics CIA agents used on detainees.
“We saw the release of a partisan report from Democrats in the Senate, 6000 pages, that presented a biased view of what our intelligence officers did in the aftermath of 9/11. And that weakened our nation. It endangered Americans across the globe and the risk of retaliation of violence is real,” Cruz said after a Heritage Foundation speech.
“But even more broadly it demonstrates an approach that has characterized this administration for 6 years, which is everything, everything, everything is George W. Bush’s fault. Enough already with blaming George W. Bush for every failure of this administration,” he continued.
But then Cruz clarified that he does not support the tactics used by the CIA described in the report.
“And let me be clear, torture is wrong, unambiguously. Period. The end. Civilized nations do not engage in torture and Congress has rightly acted to make absolutely clear that the United States will not engage in torture,” he said.
Conservatives typically avoid calling harsh interrogation methods “torture.” The CIA describes them as “enhanced interrogation techniques.”
In condemning the report on Thursday, multiple conservatives referred just to “detention and interrogation” program or policy. While criticizing the release of the report, Sen. Saxby Chambliss referred to the tactics as “enhanced interrogation techniques,” as did the Republican minority report on the investigation.
Correction: This post originally said Cruz called the CIA’s tactics “torture,” but upon further review it’s not entirely clear if he connected the actions depicted in the report to what he condemned as “torture.”
Torture is really totally bad, you guys, but…uh…the CIA didn’t do any of that torturing stuff so BENGHAZI.
Buried deep in that word salad there is a kernel of truth but that’s not what he showed up for. It slipped out unintentionally and he’ll never do it again. And I’m not sure what he means by
With the exception of McCain, most of the Rs in Congress seem to be on board
Joe McCarthy Jr appalled by torture.
“Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering asked Cruz about the Senate Intelligence Committee report on CIA torture.”
Breitbart’s Charlie Spiering placed the ball on the rhetorical tee for Cruz.
FIFY
Any real journalist worth his salt would follow up by asking what particular “failure of this administration” Obama and the Dems are trying to blame on Dubya by releasing this report. THEN INSIST ON A FUCKING ANSWER. Dude would vomit the most ridiculous word salad we’ve heard from him yet, because there’s just zero way to explain that irrational straw man nonsense.
RINO LIbtard Ted CRUZ (R - BLUE staTE of TexaS) LITERALLY raPEs Conservatives aND ENHAnched INterrOGation TEchnIques WHich are JUStified BY aMErican ExceptiONALISm and That IT prodUCed acTIONABL intelligence. TechNiQues and INtellIGENce that SAVEd LIbtard AND AMericaN aLike. COndtemn RINO Cruz and ALL libtards THAT want TO see America DEstroyed!!!1!11one!!!1!!!