Scarecrow at the Pyro Poodle Puddle notes that the Intelligence Science Board, the people who develop procedures and techniques for the intelligence agencies, have re-confirmed what everyone already knew: torture doesn’t work.

We have decades of study on this question, and every time the question is asked, the answer is the same: torture doesn’t work.

The purpose of torture is to coerce someone into doing something against their will, i.e. sign a false confession, make a propaganda statement. No one has ever gotten usable intelligence from torture, all that has ever been obtained is fodder for agitprop.

Laura Rozen found an interesting essay in her post, State, unplugged, by Price Floyd, recently retired director of media affairs at the State Department.

Speaking of the difficultly of his job, trying to put the best face on US foreign policy, Mr. Floyd notes:

We have eroded not only the good will of the post-9-11 days but also any residual appreciation from the countries we supported during the Cold War. This is due to several actions taken by the Bush administration, including pulling out of the Kyoto Protocol (environment), refusing to take part in the International Criminal Court (rule of law), and pulling out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (arms control). The prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib and the continuing controversy over the detainees in Guantanamo also sullied the image of America.

His basic point is that people aren’t going to listen to what we say when they see what we do.

I talked about the fire in the Okefenokee Swamp, and now about 2000 acres is on fire in what was the bed of Lake Okeechobee.

We really need some rain.