Today’s New York Times has an article explaining how torture became a method of interrogation for this administration:

When the Justice Department publicly declared torture “abhorrent” in a legal opinion in December 2004, the Bush administration appeared to have abandoned its assertion of nearly unlimited presidential authority to order brutal interrogations.

But soon after Alberto R. Gonzales’s arrival as attorney general in February 2005, the Justice Department issued another opinion, this one in secret. It was a very different document, according to officials briefed on it, an expansive endorsement of the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

The new opinion, the officials said, for the first time provided explicit authorization to barrage terror suspects with a combination of painful physical and psychological tactics, including head-slapping, simulated drowning and frigid temperatures.

Think Progress has more on this, including Condi’s apparent angry response to this decision. This is the reason why impeachment should be on the table, contrary to what Nancy Pelosi says. The Democrats need to stop acting like Republicans and show leadership. Sadly I doubt that will happen. While I still want to see more Democrats take over Congress and the White House, I will not be donating any money to the Democratic party of the election committees until they deliver on what they promise.