Is Water Boarding Allowable during Interrogations?

It seems getting a yes or no answer to this question from U.S. Attorney General nominee Michael Mukasey will not be coming anytime soon. His failure to answer forthrightly this straightforward question has eroded what looked like solid bipartisan support to approve his nomination.

Former federal judge Mukasey dodged questions asked him during his confirmation hearings concerning the use water boarding as a method in interrogations.

Not a very solid performance by who would be the third U.S. Attorney General to serve under President George W. Bush's administration. An administration considered by many to have been more secretive in their actions than the Richard Nixon administration.

Reportedly the Senate Judiciary Committee chaired by Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt) will schedule the confirmation vote for Tuesday November 6, 2007 and President Bush has gone on the offensive to gain Mukasey's confirmation.

At a speech yesterday afternoon to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, President Bush continued to make the case to confirm his choice for Attorney General. He said the Attorney General position is essential to the security of America and criticized the Senate Judiciary Committee for holding up the nomination.

President Bush went on to say that 1. Mukasey had not seen any of the CIA program information for it is classified, 2. He doesn't want an uninformed A.G. determination to affect the legal status of operatives, and 3. he did not want Terrorists to know what techniques the U.S. will or will not use in interrogations.

Perhaps the President has forgotten the (Geneva) convention which spells out the humane way prisoners of war should be treated. It has also been widely reported that the confessions obtained as a result of using this technique during interrogations are not reliable.

It is heartening to see Republican leaders like Senator Lindsey Graham (S.C.), a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Senator John McCain (Ariz) who is running for President and a former prioner of war say they may oppose the nomination of Mukasey because of his answers given on water boarding.

Following President Bush's speech to the Heritage Foundation, Senator Edward Kennedy (Mass) in a speech stated he will vote against the nomination of Michael Mukasey for U.S. Attorney General.

Mukasey's inability to answer such a critical question is troublesome indeed.

If the confirmation vote does occur Tuesday one question is clear - Is water boarding allowable during interrogations? The answer given by a potential Attorney General of the United States should also be clear - No - and that is how the Senate should vote in regard to Michael Mukasey's nomination.