John McCain is no stranger to war and torture. He experienced it first hand when his plane was shot down in Vietnam and he was captured by the VC. His descriptions of what he endured in 1968 are horrific at best.That makes him possibly the most qualified man in Congress to speak on the subject. His seat as Chair of the Armed Forces Committee also gives him a certain insight into what the United States did to prisoners in violation of the Geneva Convention and the treaty we signed outlawing torture with 147 other countries in 1987.For candidates like Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to declare that waterboarding, a simulated execution by drowning, is in any way acceptable isn t just dangerous, it s criminal. McCain reminds us that after World War II, Japanese generals were tried, convicted and hung for their role in torturing POWs, which included waterboarding.McCain makes a powerful statement about the role of waterboarding or any kind of torture for that matter: It s been so disappointing to see some presidential candidates on the campaign trail engaged in loose talk about reviving waterboarding and other inhumane interrogation techniques. It might be easy to dismiss this bluster as cheap campaign rhetoric, but these statements must not go unanswered because they mislead the American people about the realities of interrogation, how to gather intelligence, what it takes to defend our security and at the most fundamental level what we are fighting for as a nation. Senator McCain s words had to sting those candidates who love to pander to the extremists of the right. The fear-mongering they engage in creates a perfect atmosphere for a mob mentality that demands we torture people, even if it isn t good interrogation technique because hate prevails with the ignorant.Good for you, Senator. It s comforting to see Republicans standing up to the degenerates your base has decided to endorse. Now if you could just do something about them https://www.facebook.com/CSPAN/videos/10154149512985579/Featured image via screen capture 