Finally, some sanity about the "torture" memos.

The Obama administration released 4 Office of Legal Council legal opinions regarding whether certain interrogation techniques constituted torture. They are located here.

Fox reports some reactions to the memos. Some of the Democrats' reaction to them are quite predictable, but one wonders if they bothered to read the memos. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) makes his position abundantly clear:

"These memos make it abundantly clear that the Bush administration engaged
in torture. Because torture is illegal under American law -- as the U.S. is a
signatory to the Convention Against Torture -- we are legally required to
investigate and, when appropriate, to prosecute those responsible for these
crimes."

He wants Bush and his people prosecuted.

The ACLU concurs. "These memos provide yet more incontrovertible evidence that Bush administration officials at the highest level of government authorized and gave legal blessings to acts of torture that violate domestic and international law," ACLU Director Anthony Romero said in a statement.

One wonders how these people arrived at their conclusions. They give no real clue. David Rivkin, a constitutional lawyer, arrived at another conclusion:

"This data is analyzed in great detail to establish that the use of these
techniques does not inflict either physical or psychological damage," said
Rivkin, who served in the administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush.
"The conclusions (the) memos reach -- that the specific interrogation techniques
used by the CIA did not constitute torture -- are eminently
reasonable."

Having read 2 of the 4 memos, I was struck by the extraordinary care taken by the interrogators to prevent physical harm to the prisoners. Perhaps most telling of all, the US military used all of the techniques in training thousands of soldiers and air force personnel for years, including the most controversial waterboarding. None of them suffered physical or psychological damage from the experience.

Sleep deprivation might be uncomfortable for the individual and waterboarding may be terrifying, but neither causes physical or psychological damage. Any conclusion that they constitute torture seems very tortured itself.