April 21, 2009: Former Bush Official Says He Has ‘No Problem’ with Torture Techniques Such as Sleep Deprivation

Former Bush White House press secretary Ari Fleischer says he has no problem with certain methods of torture documented in recently released Bush administration memos (see April 16, 2009). “I don’t know what I think about waterboarding,” Fleischer says. “I think waterboarding is pretty close to the line. But I’m not an expert in it, and I think, when it comes to that, you really can’t go by what a layman has come to learn by reading newspapers.… [S]leep deprivation, I have no problem with. I think it’s all is how it’s conducted and to what extent things go (see April 21, 2009). [I]f you read those documents, it was conducted with medical people being present to make certain that it didn’t enter the area where you go from a harsh technique—and I think it’s appropriate to be harsh with people after September 11 who might be able to prevent the next attack.” Even so, Fleischer says he is not a proponent of torture. Asked by interviewer Anderson Cooper, “If it works, do you think, then, it’s justified?” Fleischer replies, “No, I don’t.” [CNN, 4/21/2009]