The issue of harsh interrogation techniques to fight the war on terror has some lawmakers running for political cover these days.
But at least one U.S. senator, New York Democrat Charles Schumer, made the case in favor of possible use of torture five years ago, explaining "most Americans and most senators, maybe all, would say, 'Do what you have to do'" if there were an imminent nuclear threat against the nation.
Speaking before the Senate Judiciary Committee on June 8, 2004, Schumer stated:
"And I'd like to interject a note of balance here. There are times when we all get in high dudgeon. We ought to be reasonable about this. I think there are probably very few people in this room or in America who would say that torture should never, ever be used, particularly if thousands of lives are at stake.
"Take the hypothetical: If we knew that there was a nuclear bomb hidden in an American city and we believed that some kind of torture, fairly severe maybe, would give us a chance of finding that bomb before it went off, my guess is most Americans and most senators, maybe all, would say, 'Do what you have to do.'
"So it's easy to sit back in the armchair and say that torture can never be used. But when you're in the foxhole, it's a very different deal."
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