One question about waterboarding is whether it is torture. Liberals, who are generally sloppy and inflationary in their use of language, say it is. These are the same people who think that ID checks at polling places 'disenfranchise' those without identification. (See this contemptibly idiotic NYT editorial.) But on any responsible use of terms, waterboarding cannot be called torture. (If that is what you call it, what do you call a Saddam-style red-hot poker 'colonoscopy'?)
Waterboarding led to the Bin Laden capture as Peter King (R-NY) revealed last night on the O' Reilly Factor.
Suppose we acquiesce for a moment in the liberal-left misuse of 'torture' whereby it subsumes waterboarding. Even under this concession, could anyone in his right mind think that it is always and everywhere wrong to use torture? That is the kind of extremism that characterizes liberals and libertarians. They cannot seem to realize that otherwise excellent principles often admit of exceptions.
Free speech is another example.