DOWNLOADS: (2718)

PLAYS: (3444)

The news that we used waterboarding a total of 266 times on two terror suspects has rocked the country.

C.I.A. interrogators used waterboarding, the near-drowning technique that top Obama administration officials have described as illegal torture, 266 times on two key prisoners from Al Qaeda, far more than had been previously reported.

MSNBC's military analyst retired Col. Jack Jacobs said that it was an astounding number.

Norah: Are you surprised by the number, two hundred and sixty six time on two terrorism suspects?

Jacobs: It's kind of astounding isn't it? You think after one or two times it didn't work, you wouldn't keep trying. Clearly, if you're doing it that many times it should be obvious to the casual observer that the technique is not working. Usually the information that you can get that's useful, you can get with very easy techniques. I've been in combat plenty of times, captured lots of bad guys and invariably got lots of information out of them using cigarettes, medical care and food. Most of the stuff that you're going to get when you give people a bad time, most of it is going to be information that they're going to give just to shut you up or to get you to stop doing what you're doing to them.

The colonel didn't want President Obama to release the CIA memos, but his take on torture is right on. It should be obvious, but it wasn't and that's often the case when new powers are bestowed on people with power. And that's why Judge Bybee should be impeached.

Join the grassroots movement to impeach Judge Jay Bybee by signing your name to the resolution before Friday's California Democratic Party convention.

MSNBC's morning host Alex Witt brought on Col. Jack Jacobs on Friday to discuss the FISA debate and served up White House talking points very nicely. (h/t Bob F)

JACOBS: There are something like 30 or 40 pending lawsuits already against the telecommunications industry, internet service providers and so on for cooperating with the government and um, violating their privacy. They’re not going to participate any more—the telecommunications industry with the government if they can’t be protected and so Mukasey’s saying there are conversations we could have listened to, information we could have received, but we didn’t get it because nobody’s cooperating.

WITT: So does this mean the terrorists, who were certainly aware of this situation right now, that they got this open window and they’re able to communicate?

JACOBS: They do indeed. They do, indeed. And there are other ways they can take advantage of this situation too, not just this law. But this is a big stumbling block in getting information, which we can use to protect ourselves. It’s a big fight and it will continue and this is an election year, don’t forget, so it’s got partisan overtones you’ll continue to hear about.

Are you flipping kidding me? The amount of fearmongering and misinformation is sickening. Let's be clear: the telecoms want to be immunized from prosecution from violating the privacy of AMERICANS. Not terrorists. Do you really think that al Qaeda will instruct one of their minions walk into court and file suit against AT&T? How stupid do they think the American people are? Wait, don't answer that.

The ACLU has issued a press release scolding the White House for playing politics with the domestic surveillance bill.

US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has acknowledged that security in Iraq has not improved statistically since Saddam Hussein's fall in 2003. Mr Rumsfeld told the BBC insurgents crossed Iraq's "porous" borders from Iran, Syria and elsewhere. But he said Iraq's military forces were growing in numbers and he was confident the insurgency would be defeated....read on

Tell us something we didn't already know! I heard MSNBC's military expert Jack Jacobs say after just coming back from Iraq that it was depressing and just as dangerous as it was a year ago.