Just to set the record straight on that little Cheney canard, that the torture program he created was not only necessary, but gave us vital intelligence to protect the country and that the CIA docs that he had in a special folder in his office would prove it. Top terrorist adviser in the Bush administration Frances Townsend was forced to admit it's not true. Greg Sargent:
Here’s her quote (from Nexis):
It’s very difficult to draw a cause and effect, because it’s not clear when techniques were applied vs. when that information was received. It’s implicit. It seems, when you read the report, that we got the — the — the most critical information after techniques had been applied. But the report doesn’t say that.
Cheney defenders have grabbed onto the idea that the docs imply torture worked with the urgency of a drowning person clinging to driftwood. But let’s be clear: Cheney said repeatedly that the CIA docs would settle the question. And even a top terror adviser in his administration is now admitting that this isn’t the case.
Of course, whether or not any information was obtained that helped to protect the country isn't really the point, though Cheney successfully diverted us all there. The point is, torture is illegal, reglardless of the results. There's also the little fact that, as the Armed Services report demonstrated, the torture program wasn't implemented to gain intelligence to prevent another attack on the U.S. The torture plan was implemented to get false intelligence to justify the Iraq debacle.