Normally, in blog discussions, comparing those holding a particular position to Nazis constitutes a violation of Godwin's Law. But, in this case, (1) the reference is not mine, but Andrew Sullivan'sand (2) the comparison is substantively interesting, so I think I'm onsafe ground. Here's a snippet of Sullivan's intriguing post. Go read the whole thing:
The phrase "Verschrfte Vernehmung" is German for "enhancedinterrogation". Other translations include "intensified interrogation"or "sharpened interrogation". It's a phrase that appears to have beenconcocted in 1937, to describe a form of torture that would leave nomarks, and hence save the embarrassment pre-war Nazi officials wereexperiencing as their wounded torture victims ended up in court. Themethods, as you can see above, are indistinguishable from thosedescribed as "enhanced interrogation techniques" by the president. Asyou can see from the Gestapo memo, moreover, the Nazis were adamantthat their "enhanced interrogation techniques" would be carefullyrestricted and controlled, monitored by an elite professional staff, ofthe kind recommended by Charles Krauthammer, and strictly reserved forcertain categories of prisoner. At least, that was the original plan.
Also: the use of hypothermia, authorized by Bush and Rumsfeld, wasinitially forbidden. 'Waterboarding" was forbidden too, unlike thatauthorized by Bush. As time went on, historians have found that all thebureaucratic restrictions were eventually broken or abridged. Once youstart torturing, it has a life of its own. The "cold bath" technique -the same as that used by Bush against al-Qahtani in Guantanamo - was,according to professor Darius Rejali of Reed College,
pioneeredby a member of the French Gestapo by the pseudonym Masuy about 1943.The Belgian resistance referred to it as the Paris method, and theGestapo authorized its extension from France to at least two placeslate in the war, Norway and Czechoslovakia. That is where people reportexperiencing it.
In Norway, we actually have a 1948court case that weighs whether "enhanced interrogation" using themethods approved by president Bush amounted to torture. The proceedingsare fascinating, with specific reference to the hypothermia used inGitmo, and throughout interrogation centers across the field ofconflict. The Nazi defense of the techniques is almost verbatim that of the Bush administration.
UPDATE: Here's Marty Lederman's (as always) interesting take on Sullivan's post.
