He didn't, but so what if he did?

Cheney did not back simulated drowning: White House

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The wife of Vice President Dick Cheney leaped to his defense on Friday after he was accused of endorsing simulated drowning by saying a "dunk in water" for terrorism suspects might be useful.

"This is complete distortion. He didn't say anything of the kind," Lynne Cheney told CNN's "The Situation Room" when asked if Cheney was endorsing "water boarding," an interrogation technique some human rights advocates consider torture.

The vice president was asked on Tuesday by a conservative radio host from Fargo, North Dakota: "Would you agree a dunk in water is a no-brainer if it can save lives?"


"Well, it's a no-brainer for me," replied Cheney as part of a campaign by Republicans to keep national security on the minds of voters ahead of November 7 congressional elections.

Cheney did not address the controversy on a trip to Missouri, but his wife, President George W. Bush and White House spokesman Tony Snow all came to his defense.

"This country doesn't torture. We're not going to torture. We will interrogate people we pick up off the battlefield to determine whether or not they've got information that will be helpful to protect the country," Bush told reporters.

Cheney's comment prompted complaints from a human rights group that he was endorsing a technique called "water boarding" that simulates drowning.

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First off, "water boarding" as practiced by our men does not entail "dunking" but "pouring". You'd think terrorist rights -- er, human rights -- groups would know that much.

More importantly, we agree with the Veep's original reaction: It's a no brainer. Water boarding sounds unpleasant but hardly compares with having your head sawed off or leaping to your death from the 88th floor of a skyscraper.

So many Americans are going wobbly.