Richard Cohen's column in the Washington Post today has inspired me to try a thought experiment. Cohen's column relies on so many right wing, pro-torture talking points that I find it difficult to believe he actually abhors torture, as he claims to. Rather, this sober, thoughtful, serious columnist promotes so many false assumptions about torture that the true nature of his hedging is quite clear. But I'll play along. Let us, for a moment, assume what we know to be false is true. Let us, as the old joke about economists goes, "assume a can opener." What are the logical extensions of these assumptions? Read on!
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