Political Ruminations

Morning Quote: Barack Obama

“Waterboarding is torture. It’s contrary to America’s traditions. It’s contrary to our ideals. That’s not who we are. That’s not how we operate. We don’t need it in order to prosecute the war on terrorism. And we did the right thing by ending that practice. If we want to lead around the world, part of our leadership is setting a good example. And anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that's not something we do -- period.”

- President Barack Obama, again speaks out against waterboarding at a press conference in Hawaii on Nov. 14, 2011.

Morning Quote: President Barack Obama

“They're wrong. Waterboarding is torture. Anybody who has actually read about and understands the practice of waterboarding would say that that is torture. And that's not something we do -- period.”

- President Obama on waterboarding - torture, responding to Herman Cain and Michele Bachmann, who both stated (during the debate Sat., Nov. 12) that they would approve the use of waterboarding if he/she were to win the presidency.

Al Qaeda Confirms bin Laden Death & More bin Laden Death Updates

According to CNN, Al Qaeda confirmed bin Laden’s death today via a statement on jihadist forums. The content of the statement, which predictably included a threat against Americans, via CNN:

"We will not deviate from that or change until Allah judges between us and between our enemy with truth. Indeed, He is the best of all judges. Nothing will harm us after that, until we see either victory and success and conquest and empowerment, or we die trying."

It said that Americans "will never enjoy security until our people in Palestine enjoy it."

"The soldiers of Islam, groups and individuals, will continue planning without tiredness or boredom, and without despair or surrender, and without weakness or stagnancy, until they cause the disaster that makes children look like the elderly!"

It urged Pakistanis "to cleanse this shame that has been attached to them by a clique of traitors and thieves" and "from the filth of the Americans who spread corruption in it."

Debunking Right-Wing Memes Regarding the Death of Osama bin Laden - Act 1

Since yesterday, the most ubiquitous right-wing meme on the web regarding the death of Osama bin Laden has been the one were, in a nutshell, “Bush deserves the credit. The information came from a Guantanamo detainee who was tortured. This is Bush’s achievement.” (Please also note how unashamed they are to claim the “credit” for the use of torture.) Think Progress:

Bush loyalists have been “irked” over the past 24 hours that they are not getting credit for the killing of Osama bin Laden, arguing that their torture program helped bring about intelligence that led to the mission. Karl Rove said “the tools that President Bush put into place –- GITMO, rendition, enhanced interrogation” led to the successful operation. Similarly, former Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said the mission “rested heavily on some of those controversial policies” from the Bush era.

In large part, this came up due to a report by The New York Times yesterday that the information came from a Guantanamo detainee: