FORMER REPUBLICAN presidential candidate John McCain has criticised contenders for next year’s election for pledging to reinstate the waterboarding of terrorism suspects if they win the presidency.
Mr McCain, a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, has consistently described waterboarding as torture.
He said in a tweet yesterday that he was “very disappointed” by support for the technique from Herman Cain, Rick Perry and Michele Bachmann at a debate on Saturday.
The candidates criticised President Obama for banning the use of waterboarding and said they would reinstate its use if elected.
Mr McCain said: “Very disappointed by statements at SC GOP debate supporting waterboarding. Waterboarding is torture.”
Some Republican candidates argued that the use of the interrogation method, which simulates drowning, had produced valuable intelligence.
