Karl Rove explains why CIA waterboarding wasn't torture

Karl Rove explains why CIA waterboarding wasn&#039;t torture

last updated 8 January 2015

Karl Rove says waterboarding can be considered torture — but not in the way the CIA used it.

Critics have pointed out that the U.S. prosecuted and hanged Japanese soldiers who waterboarded American troops in World War II; Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made that point Sunday on Face the Nation. But the longtime adviser to George W. Bush insisted that while the Japanese form of waterboarding was indeed torture, CIA interrogators made a slight tweak that rendered the procedure legal and humane.

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Jon Terbush is an associate editor at TheWeek.com covering politics, sports, and other things he finds interesting. He has previously written for Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, and Business Insider.

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