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The brewing challenge to the nomination of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General that NBC's David Gregory covered yesterday was nipped in the bud. A pair of Democrats announced their support, despite his stonewalling about waterboarding, so the all three networks mentioned his assured confirmation only in passing without assigning a reporter. ABC, for its lead, offered Jan Crawford Greenburg's Exclusive backgrounder on the torture technique known as waterboarding, in which interrogators pour water over a prisoner's head to create the sensation of drowning.
Crawford Greenburg revealed that Daniel Levin, the Justice Department official in charge of designating what constitutes torture, volunteered to be waterboarded in 2004. His report to the White House was that "even though he knew he would not die he found his experience terrifying." Crawford Greenburg reported that Levin was working on a memo to require waterboarders to work under close supervision, with time limits and accompanied by medical personnel when he was "forced out" by incoming Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. Her unidentified sources told her that Levin "was just viewed as too independent" by the White House.
ABC's Brian Ross (at the tail of the Crawford Greenburg videostream) reported that the CIA has tortured three prisoners using waterboarding: suspected al-Qaeda commanders Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, abu-Zubaydah and abu-Faraj al-Libi. Actually Ross did not flat out call it "torture." He just implied it by indicating that the inquisitors are aware of their guilt. He explained that the reason why the CIA refuses to say that it has discontinued the practice is that to do so would be to admit its prior existence. "They are afraid of opening up criminal prosecution of those who administered the waterboarding." Despite last year's ban on waterboarding by Director Michael Hayden, Ross added that "there are many in the CIA who think it was a very effective technique" and want to leave the option open to torture again in "a national emergency."
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