Voice of reason

John Hinderaker has posted the entire opening remarks of Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona at yet another House hearing where the subject of torture is being demagogued by the left. It was excellent. Go read it all, but here's a sample:

Severe interrogations are rarely used. CIA Director Michael Hayden has confirmed that despite the incessant hysteria by a few, the water boarding technique, for example, has only been used on three high-level captured terrorists, the very worst of the worst of our terrorist enemies.

Director Hayden suspended the practice of water boarding by CIA agents in 2006. Before the suspension, he confirmed that his agency water boarded 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Abu Zubaida and Abdullah Hem Nashiri (ph), and each for approximately one minute.

But who are these people, Mr. Chairman? When the terrorist Zubaida, a logistics chief of Al Qaida, was captured, he and two other men were caught building a bomb. A soldering gun that was used to make the bomb was still hot on the table, along with the building plans for a school.

Rep. Franks is being generous - the incessant hysteria has been by much more than a few, and so successful (thanks to a sympathetic media) that large parts of the population believe that torture has been in widespread continuous use and still continues today. Still, the remarks as a whole are the best example of placing this issue in perspective I've seen.