Torture USA.

NYTimes: Secret U.S. Endorsement of Severe Interrogations

Later that year, as Congress moved toward outlawing "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment, the Justice Department issued another secret opinion, one most lawmakers did not know existed, current and former officials said. The Justice Department document declared that none of the C.I.A. interrogation methods violated that standard.

[...]

A White House spokesman, Tony Fratto, said Wednesday that he would not comment on any legal opinion related to interrogations. Mr. Fratto added, "We have gone to great lengths, including statutory efforts and the recent executive order, to make it clear that the intelligence community and our practices fall within U.S. law" and international agreements.

Another example of the power of the current administration: they are able to redefine the laws of the country so that previously illegal actions are now legal. And there are apparently no checks in place to prevent them from doing so.

Aside: I noticed it again last night, watching The Bionic Woman, the portrayal of torture as a method of successfully getting information that is needed to save the day. The ends justify the means. Of course you don't see any of the torture, so the action itself is a black box process:

uncooperative suspect --> [ torture ] --> useful information that can be used to do good.

Our task, and the task of future generations, will be to re-learn why torture is wrong.

See also: Stop the Raids