Excesses:

The Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon have both banned the use of waterboarding in interrogations, but a spokesman for President Bush said that Bush could still authorise its use in the future. Congress, which already passed a ban on torture in 2006, has no choice but to specifically prohibit this technique.

White House deputy spokesman Tony Fratto made the statement that Bush still retains the right to use waterboarding after congressional testimony by CIA Director Michael Hayden. With the approval of the president, Hayden had told Congress that his agency had used the simulated-drowning technique on three Al Qaeda suspects. The UN Convention Against Torture prohibits any treatment of prisoners causing long-term physical or mental damage. The Bush administration points to the value of information provided by the Al Qaeda suspects after waterboarding, but outside analysts have questioned the validity of statements by one of the three, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.

The Spanish Inquisition, Nazi Germany, militarist Japan, Pol Pot — this is the roster that Bush wants the United States to join. Congress should act to make sure that the United States does not once again stoop to using tortura del agua (water torture). That’s what it was called during the Inquisition. — The Boston Globe