"The Torture Question" on PBS Tonight

Here’s a doco that’ll probably get a fair bit of discussion in the blogosphere this week: The Torture Question, which airs on PBS’ Frontline tonight at 9pm eastern.

The 90-minute documentary reveals how and why

decisions made in Washington, D.C., in the immediate aftermath of Sept.

11 led to the controversial interrogation policy that laid the

groundwork for prisoner abuse in Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and Abu

Ghraib.

“We knew The Torture Question would be a timely subject,” said producer Michael Kirk, a Denver native who’s been with Frontline since its inception.

Kirk, who produced, directed and wrote The Torture Question,

said he could sense the building of nonpartisan Congressional interest

in how the U.S. was handling the prisoner-interrogation issue.

Then last week the Senate, in a 90-9 (see my buddy George’s blog entry to see who the nine were) vote, approved an Iraq

military funding bill, with an attached provision introduced by Sen.

John McCain, R-Ariz., that prohibits “cruel, inhuman or degrading

treatment” of prisoners in the custody of the U.S. military.

The last segment of The Torture Question includes comments by McCain and Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina on the importance of the Senate vote.

The House has yet to deal with the issue. President Bush has said he would veto any bill that contains anti-torture provisions.

While many conservatives view Frontline as a liberal mouthpiece, Kirk believes the Senate vote takes The Torture Question out of the political arena.