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Rice’s student questioner then pointed out that our government had never resorted to torture, “Even in World War II, as we faced Nazi Germany — probably the greatest threat that America has ever faced.”
She quickly shot back, “And we didn’t torture anybody here either. Alright?”
“Is waterboarding torture?” the student then asked.
“I just said — the United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture,” Rice maintained. “And so, by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Conventions Against Torture.”
Yes, but… is waterboarding torture? And if so, is it illegal —- even when the president condones it? Or are there no limits to what a president can do, even if it’s patently illegal? Can the president do anything despite the law? Unless someone in the Obama Administration soon starts asking uncomfortable questions like those coming out of the mouths of babes like Misha Lerner, the Nixon/Bush/Rice position that we live in a nation ruled by men -— and not laws – may yet prevail.
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