By David Luban*
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| David Luban |
Presidential candidate Donald
Trump has made headlines with his campaign promise to revive torture as a U.S.
government practice. First, with his signature bluster, Trump declared last November that he would approve waterboarding “in a
heartbeat.” He added, “And I would approve more than that. . . . And you know
what? If it doesn’t work, they deserve it anyway, for what they’re doing.” In
February he repeated that he would bring back waterboarding “and a hell of a lot
worse.”
Trump’s
promises received a frosty reception from U.S. intelligence officials. General
Michael Hayden, former CIA head and an unapologetic hawk, said “If some future
president is going to decide to waterboard, he’s better bring his own bucket,
because he’s going to have to do it himself,” and torture memo author John Yoo
and former CIA General Counsel John Rizzo agreed.
