And So It Begins: Arkansas' Tom Cotton Says Waterboarding Is Not Torture.

I don't know who we as America intend to waterboard, but the world -- and all international accords and our own national laws -- say it's torture. Hell, even McCain thinks so. And yet, here we go again...

Tom Cotton served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Violating the rules of war invites
the other side to do so as well. He doesn't see how that puts our troops in danger?

A bigger mystery might be why Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) even feels, two days after Donald Trump's victory, that he should take a stand on waterboarding. We know that Trump went all in, saying something like "I'd waterboard the shit out of them!"

Cotton equivocated on CNN, choosing not to say adamantly that waterboarding is a permissible form of interrogation. Instead, he seemed like he was opening the door for Donald Trump because Trump was "tough:"

Blitzer then asked Cotton if he accepts waterboarding. Cotton said that Trump would have to make that "tough call" as president.

"If experienced intelligence professionals come to the president of the United States and say, ‘We think this terrorist has critical information and we need to obtain it, and this is the only way we can obtain it,’ that’s a tough call,” Cotton replied. “But the presidency is a tough job, and if you’re not willing to make those tough calls then you shouldn’t seek the office. Donald Trump’s a pretty tough guy, and I think he’s ready to make those tough calls."

Just for the record, all international accords and our own national law make clear that waterboarding is torture and that torture is prohibited. We as signatories are obligated to follow them. What Tom Cotton suggests is a bridge to legality for waterboarding that doesn't exist. But, hey, let's get ready to rumble!