“[...] torture has been routine practice from the early days of the conquest of the national territory, and then beyond, as the imperial ventures of the infant empire—as George Washington called the new Republic—extended to the Philippines, Haiti, and elsewhere. Furthermore, torture was the least of the many crimes of aggression, terror, subversion, and economic strangulation that have darkened US history, much as in the case of other great powers. Accordingly, it is surprising to see the reactions even by some of the most eloquent and forthright critics of Bush malfeasance: for example, that we used to be a nation of moral ideals and never before Bush have our leaders so utterly betrayed everything our nation stands for. To say the least, that common view reflects a rather slanted version of history.”