As the AP reports, the administration is now arguing that vice president Cheney did not, in fact, say that using water boarding, the interrogation method whereby a detainee is made to feel that he is drowning, is a “no-brainer.”
His comment in an interview with a talk show host earlier this week got wide coverage. When the interviewer asked, “Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?” Cheney replied, “It’s a no-brainer for me, but for a while there, I was criticized as being the Vice President “for torture.” We don’t torture. That’s not what we’re involved in.”
Peppered with questions about the remarks, Snow said Cheney did not interpret the question as referring to water boarding and the vice president did not make any comments about water boarding. He said the question put to Cheney was loosely worded.
The administration has repeatedly refused to say which techniques they believe are permitted under the new law. Asked to define a dunk in water, Snow said, “It’s a dunk in the water.”
You can read the interview yourself.
