Toobin describes torture memos as "shocking and appalling stuff," which were "totally without legal support"

And he is right. But then moronic Cooper asked him, "but did these techniques work?"

That's where America is today. We are in "24" TV show mode.

If John Yoo or Baybee go on CNN and say that they got information that led to a terror cell being discovered somewhere, then they will all be vindicated.

We can just ignore the mountain of evidence that our country's leaders broke the law, conventions and have no morality to speak of.

From the Geneva Convention, and I quote "To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) Taking of hostages; (c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment."

In 1949, this was enacted and the USA signed on, having had its troops subjected to bamboo shoots piercings, fingernails torn out, electrical shocks to genitals, severe beatings, starvation, etc.

Severely agonizing techniques were considered torture. 2009 considerations that torture means the prisoner doesn't get a restful sleep is a re-write of the definition of torture.

Just because something is uncomfortable or unpleasant, doesn't mean it is torture.