British Panel Doubts U.S. on Torture

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/21/world/europe/21britain.html?_r=1&ref=world&oref=slogin

British Panel Doubts U.S. on Torture

By REUTERS
Published: July 21, 2008

LONDON (Reuters) — Britain should no longer rely on assurances by the United States that it does not torture terrorism suspects, an influential parliamentary committee said in a report released Sunday.

Britain had previously taken those assurances at face value, but after the C.I.A. acknowledged using waterboarding techniques on three detainees, Britain should change its stance, according to the report, by the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Commons.

The foreign secretary, David Miliband, told Parliament in April that the technique, in which suspects are tied down and water is poured over their hooded faces to simulate drowning, amounted to torture.

“Given the clear differences in definition, the U.K. can no longer rely on U.S. assurances that it does not use torture, and we recommend that the government does not rely on such assurances in the future,” the report said.

[midnight]

1. Good God. They are just now figuring this out.

"the U.K. can no longer rely on U.S. assurances that it does not use torture
we recommend that the government does not rely on such assurances in the future,”