Former GWB State Dept Legal Advisor Decries Waterboarding as Torture
William Taft IV, Chief Legal Adviser to the State Department in the Bush Administration, and, incidentally, great-grandson of President William Howard Taft As George W. Bush admitted to the world unabashedly that he had signed off on waterboarding suspected high-value Al Qaeda operatives, adding that he'd do it again, William Taft IV , former Chief Legal Adviser to the State Department under Colin Powell, spoke frankly on the subject of waterboarding and torture last Friday on BBC 4's afternoon radio program, " The World at One ", condemning it unequivocally: I think it was most unfortunate, both in terms of the reputation of the United States for adhering to the Geneva Conventions , which it had always done and been a strong supporter of them. It put our soldiers at risk of not being treated consistent with them, and it was a breach of our responsibilities to the individual terrorists who, dreadful as they may be, are human beings and should be treated humanely. W...