Candidates are listed in alphabetical order. Positions are categorized as Pro (Yes), Con (No), Not Clearly Pro or Con, or None Found.
Candidates who have withdrawn or who no longer meet our criteria are listed last.

Pro (Yes)

Con (No)

Clinton, Hillary (D) - Con Hillary Clinton, U.S. Senator (D-NY), stated on The View on Oct. 15, 2007: "I think it's really important for the United States makes it absolutely clear that as a matter of policy we do not condone or conduct torture. I think that has to be our value because that gives us a lot of moral authority which we have lost, unfortunately. We also have to be smarter about how we interrogate. There's a lot of evidence that you don't get acurate, good information from extreme measures. In fact, you get it by developing some kind of system that can really get people to feel that they need to give you that information. That's what we did during World War II. That's what we have done in previous times. So, I think for both the moral and values reason and because of the lack of effectiveness that a lot of these so-called techniques have, we need to be very clear that we do not conduct torutre." Oct. 15, 2007 Hillary Clinton

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Gravel, Mike (Lib) - Con Mike Gravel, former U.S. Senator (D-AK), stated in a Mar. 1, 2007 article titled "Gravel Calls for Congress to End Torture" on his official candidate website: "The Constitution is very clear that prisoners of war are the responsibility of the Congress. The Bush administration has unlawfully taken that power without Constitutional justification. The Congress has been derelict in its duty to see that enemy combatants are treated humanely within the guidelines of the Geneva Conventions, and has been equally neglectful in its response to the President's unlawful use of torture... The practice of torture is immoral. It is un-American and it is ineffective. Information acquired as a result of torture techniques in unreliable. It endangers our soldiers in combat by encouraging reciprocity. It inflicts irreversible damage to our nation's image and undermines our credibility among the international community... It is unconscionable that the Vice President stood before the Congress and lobbied against a proposed ban on C.I.A. torture techniques... George Bush lied when he told the American people in November 2005, 'we do not torture.' How many times will Congress allow the President to lie to the American people?" Mar. 1, 2007 Mike Gravel

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	Keyes, Alan (Ind) - None Found
	ProCon.org emailed the Keyes campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

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McCain, John (R) - Con John McCain, U.S. Senator (R-AZ), stated at the Nov. 28, 2007 CNN/YouTube Republican Presidential Debate: "Then I am astonished that you would think such a -- such a torture would be inflicted on anyone in our -- who we are held captive and anyone could believe that that's not torture. It's in violation of the Geneva Convention. It's in violation of existing law... We're not going to do what Pol Pot did. We're not going to do what's being done to Burmese monks as we speak. I suggest that you talk to retired military officers and active duty military officers like Colin Powell and others, and how in the world anybody could think that that kind of thing could be inflicted by Americans on people who are held in our custody is absolutely beyond me... And again, I would hope that we would understand, my friends, that life is not '24' and Jack Bauer. Life is interrogation techniques which are humane and yet effective. And I just came back from visiting a prison in Iraq. The Army general there said that techniques under the Army Field Manual are working and working effectively, and he didn't think they need to do anything else." Nov. 28, 2007 John McCain [Editor's Note: On Feb. 13, 2008, John McCain voted against the "Intelligence Authorization Act" (H.R.1082) which, in part, would have required the CIA to be bound by the Army Field Manual's guidelines on interrogation techniques. Since the Army Field Manual prohibits waterboarding "in conjunction with intelligence interrogations," Senator McCain's vote was seen by many as a reversal of his Con position on waterboarding. McCain defended his vote in the following Feb. 14, 2008 article titled "Senator McCain Statement on Intelligence Authorization Conference Report" submitted to the Congressional Record: "...I have expressed repeatedly my view that the controversial technique known as 'waterboarding' constitutes nothing less than illegal torture. ...Throughout these debates, I have said that it was not my intent to eliminate the CIA interrogation program, but rather to ensure that the techniques it employs are humane and do not include such extreme techniques as waterboarding... The [Intelligence Authorization] conference report would go beyond any of the recent laws that I just mentioned – laws that were extensively debated and considered – by bringing the CIA under the Army Field Manual, extinguishing thereby the ability of that agency to employ any interrogation technique beyond those publicly listed and formulated for military use. I cannot support such a step because I have not been convinced that the Congress erred by deliberately excluding the CIA. I believe that our energies are better directed at ensuring that all techniques, whether used by the military or the CIA, are in full compliance with our international obligations and in accordance with our deepest values. What we need is not to tie the CIA to the Army Field Manual, but rather to have a good faith interpretation of the statutes that guide what is permissible in the CIA program."]

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	McKinney, Cynthia (Grn) - None Found
	ProCon.org emailed the McKinney campaign on Mar. 26, 2008 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Apr. 11, 2008.

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Nader, Ralph (Ind) - Not Clearly Pro or Con Ralph Nader, attorney, author, and political activist, stated in a Counterpunch article titled "Torturer-in-Chief" dated Sep. 30-Oct. 1, 2006: "So long as the lawyers and their bar associations in America do not challenge the advancing dictatorial powers of George W. Bush, so long as citizen groups, labor unions and libertarians, conservatives and liberals avoid uniting together, these constitutional crimes against due process, probable cause, habeas corpus, together with torture and indefinite imprisonment at the whim of the Executive branch, will worsen and erode American jurisprudence with serious consequences for both the nation's security and its liberties." Sep. 30-Oct. 1, 2006 Ralph Nader

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Obama, Barack (D) - Con Barack Obama, U.S. Senator (D-IL), in an Oct. 4, 2007 press release titled "Obama: Torture and Secrecy Betray Core American Values," stated: "The secret authorization of brutal interrogations is an outrageous betrayal of our core values, and a grave danger to our security. We must do whatever it takes to track down and capture or kill terrorists, but torture is not a part of the answer - it is a fundamental part of the problem with this administration's approach. Torture is how you create enemies, not how you defeat them. Torture is how you get bad information, not good intelligence. Torture is how you set back America's standing in the world, not how you strengthen it. It's time to tell the world that America rejects torture without exception or equivocation. It's time to stop telling the American people one thing in public while doing something else in the shadows. No more secret authorization of methods like simulated drowning. When I am president America will once again be the country that stands up to these deplorable tactics. When I am president we won't work in secret to avoid honoring our laws and Constitution, we will be straight with the American people and true to our values." Oct. 4, 2007 Barack Obama

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Paul, Ron (R) - Pro Ron Paul, U.S. Representative (R-TX), stated at the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate in Columbia, SC: "But you know, I think it's interesting talking about torture here in that it's become enhanced interrogation technique. It sounds like Newspeak. Nobody's for the torture, and I think that's important. But as far as taking care of a problem like this, the president has the authority to do that [use enhanced interrogation techniques]. If we're under imminent attack, the president can take that upon himself to do it [use enhanced interrogation techniques]." May 15, 2007 Ron Paul

CANDIDATES WHO HAVE WITHDRAWN OR WHO NO LONGER MEET OUR CRITERIA     Biden, Joe (D) - Con Joe Biden, U.S. Senator (D-DE), stated in a letter to U.S. Senators dated Oct. 30, 2007 on his official candidate website: "I write today to seek your support for legislation that prohibits United States personnel from engaging in water-boarding or any other form of torture. On July 25, 2007, I introduced S. 1876, the National Security with Justice Act, which among other things prohibits all United States personnel from using on a detainee any interrogation technique not expressly authorized by the Army Field Manual... When we countenance torture and other cruel and inhumane treatment of detainees, we diminish our ability to argue that the same techniques should not be used against our own troops. We need to send a clear message that torture, inhumane, and degrading treatment of detainees is unacceptable and is not permitted by U.S. law. Period. Therefore, Section 106 of my bill prohibits all officers and agents of the United States from using techniques of interrogation not authorized by and listed in the United States Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation. I urge you to support S. 1876 and join me in banning all United States personnel from engaging in torture." Oct. 30, 2007 Joe Biden Top      Brownback, Sam (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Oct. 19, 2007; no position found as of that date Top    Dodd, Chris (D) - Con Chris Dodd, U.S. Senator (D-CT), stated in a Nov. 6, 2007 speech titled "The Rule of Law in U.S. National Security and Foreign Policy" at the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council: "Waterboarding isn't torture? Malcolm Nance is a 26-year expert in intelligence and counter-terrorism, a combat veteran, and former Chief of Training at the US Navy Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape School who has trained American soldiers to resist interrogation. Listen to Malcolm Nance. He writes waterboarding - 'does not simulate drowning...The victim is drowning...slow motion suffocation....When done right it is controlled death.' Now, if you'd rather use a euphemism--'enhanced interrogation'--feel free. Feel free to use a bureaucratic term like 'extraordinary rendition'--as long as we all know that it means kidnapping the citizens of Western nations and shipping them to the Middle East for outsourced torture. Feel free to talk about 'fraternity hazing,' like Rush Limbaugh did, or to use a favorite term of Vice President Cheney's, 'a dunk in the water'--just as long as everyone understands that you're talking about a technique invented by the Spanish Inquisition and perfected by the Khmer Rouge. That, my friends, is waterboarding. It is torture. This Administration thinks it is legal. Mine will not - because there is no place for it in our America. We are better than this." Nov. 6, 2007 Chris Dodd Top    Edwards, John (D) - Con John Edwards, former U.S. Senator (D-NC), stated in an Oct. 5, 2007 article titled "Edwards Statement on Justice Department Torture Memos" on his official candidate website: "George Bush has a long record of trampling on the Constitution and failing to be straight with the American people. Yesterday we learned that -- even after the Justice Department abandoned its defense of torture -- it continued to write memos endorsing the harshest interrogation techniques ever used by the CIA. Today, the president asserted that 'we don't torture.' Pardon me, but I have my doubts that George Bush is finally being straight with us. As president, I will work to restore America's moral authority in the world by upholding the rule of law and safeguarding our civil liberties. I reject the Bush Administration's twisted logic justifying torture. I will release the legal opinions justifying it, and end the abuse of classification and legal privilege to hide un-American legal judgments. Saying no to torture will protect our troops and our values by upholding the Geneva Conventions anywhere American security forces, military or civilian, are engaged." Oct. 5, 2007 John Edwards Top      Gilmore, Jim (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Aug. 14, 2007; no position found as of that date Top    Giuliani, Rudy (R) - Pro Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of New York City, stated at the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate in Columbia, SC: "MR. GIULIANI: In the hypothetical that you gave me, which assumes that we know there's going to be another attack and these people know about it, I would tell the people who had to do the interrogation to use every method they could think of. It shouldn't be torture, but every method they can think of -- MR. [Brit] HUME: Water-boarding? MR. GIULIANI: -- and I would -- and I would -- well, I'd say every method they could think of, and I would support them in doing that because I've seen what -- (interrupted by applause) -- I've seen what can happen when you make a mistake about this, and I don't want to see another 3,000 people dead in New York or any place else." May 15, 2007 Rudy Giuliani Top      Huckabee, Mike (R) - None Found     ProCon.org emailed the Huckabee campaign on Nov. 9, 2007 with this question. We had not received a reply or found a position as of Nov. 30, 2007.   Top    Hunter, Duncan (R) - Pro Duncan Hunter, U.S. Representative (R-CA), at the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate, Columbia, SC, stated: "MR. [Brit] HUME: ...[T]he former director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, the current head of the CIA have both said that the most valuable intelligence tool they have had has been the information gained from what are called enhanced interrogation techniques to include, presumably, water-boarding. What is your view whether such techniques should be applied in a scenario like the one I described?... REP. HUNTER: Yeah, let me just say this would take a one-minute conversation with the Secretary of Defense. I would call him up or call him in. I would say to SECDEF [Secretary of Defense], in terms of getting information that would save American lives, even if it involves very high-pressure techniques, one sentence: Get the information. Have it back within an hour, and let's act on it. Let's execute with Special Operations or whoever else is necessary, and I will take full responsibility. Get the information." May 15, 2007 Duncan Hunter Top    Imperato, Daniel (3rd/I) - Pro Daniel Imperato, an Independent candidate and business entrepreneur, issued the following statement through his press secretary, Joseph Oddo, in a Nov. 30, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "Our interrogation techniques were put in place based on traditional warfare. Today's enemies such as those who killed Daniel Pearl in Pakistan use torture on us. So we should revamp the means of interrogation to reflect today's needs." Nov. 30, 2007 Daniel Imperato Top    Kubby, Steve (3rd/I) - Con Steve Kubby, a Libertarian candidate and founder of the American Medical Marijuana Association, stated in a Nov. 9, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "Absolutely not. What someone 'considers' torture is irrelevant. The term is rigourously defined in numerous statutes and treaties, and 'waterboarding' is clearly a violation of both US and international law. The US was a leading advocate of prosecuting Japanese military personnel who used 'waterboarding' on American POWs [prisoners of war] for war crimes after World War II. Beyond the legal issues are the moral issues. It's seldom that I agree with a Republican or Democratic politician, but I am with former prisoner of war John McCain on this one: We are America, and America does not torture. Period." Nov. 9, 2007 Steve Kubby Top    Kucinich, Dennis (D) - Con Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Representative (D-OH), stated in an Apr. 2006 article titled "Torture" on www.kucinichforcongress.com: "The reality is that the United States has employed torture and has transported people to certain torture -- and perhaps death. Torture is not an American value, and the President's signing statement reserving the right to torture is a clear violation of international and U.S. law that makes all of us -- and especially our soldiers -- less safe. The dismissal of the Geneva Convention as 'quaint' and the legal gymnastics performed by this administration to justify brutalizing another human should shock all of us... For the head of the C.I.A. to testify in front of Congress that 'water boarding' is a 'professional interrogation technique' is horrifying. In essence, the American people are being told that Thomas de Torquemada and the rest of the Spanish Inquisitors were not torturers when they used the 'aselli,' the water torment; they were merely professional and forceful questioners. Let us be candid, water boarding is a war crime." Apr. 2006 Dennis Kucinich Top    McEnulty, Frank (3rd/I) - Con Frank McEnulty, an Independent candidate and President of Our Castle Homes, in a Nov. 13, 2007 email to ProCon.org, stated: "Torture should not be an acceptable, legal part of our system in our war on terror or for any other purpose. It has been shown to be ineffective and sends the wrong message." Nov. 13, 2007 Frank McEnulty Top    Richardson, Bill (D) - Con Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, stated in an Oct. 19, 2007 press release "Governor Bill Richardson Calls on AG [Attorney General] Nominee to Answer the Question on Torture or Withdraw": "Waterboarding is torture, and anyone who is unwilling to identify it as such is not qualified to be the chief legal officer of the United States of America... Torture does not work. Mistreatment backfires and destroys our international leadership, as we saw with Abu Ghraib. Torture also endangers our own troops. The standards we adopt may well be what our own troops are subjected to. Anytime one makes a person think he or she is being executed, the very nature of waterboarding, it obviously is a violation of the U.S. Constitution, international law, and basic human decency... If another nation engaged in waterboarding against American citizens, we would denounce that country and call the practice barbaric, and rightly so. We must stand against torture without equivocation, without compromise, and without exception. Torture is a violation of everything we stand for as Americans and as human beings." Oct. 19, 2007 Bill Richardson Top    Romney, Mitt (R) - Pro Mitt Romney, former Governor of Massachusetts, stated in the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate in Columbia, SC: "MR. [Brit] HUME: ...[T]he former director of Central Intelligence, George Tenet, the current head of the CIA have both said that the most valuable intelligence tool they have had has been the information gained from what are called enhanced interrogation techniques to include, presumably, water-boarding. What is your view whether such techniques should be applied in a scenario like the one I described?... MR. ROMNEY: ...Some people have said, we ought to close Guantanamo. My view is, we ought to double Guantanamo. We ought to make sure that the terrorists -- (applause) -- and there's no question but that in a setting like that where you have a ticking bomb that the president of the United States -- not the CIA interrogator, the president of the United States -- has to make the call. And enhanced interrogation techniques have to be used -- not torture but enhanced interrogation techniques, yes." May 15, 2007 Mitt Romney Top    Smith, Christine (3rd/I) - Con Christine Smith, a Libertarian candidate and a social and political activist, stated in a Dec. 5, 2007 email to ProCon.org: "No. Absolutely not." Dec. 5, 2007 Christine Smith Top    Tancredo, Tom (R) - Pro Tom Tancredo, U.S. Representative (R-CO), at the May 15, 2007 Republican Presidential Debate in Columbia, SC, stated: "Well, let me just say that it's almost unbelievable to listen to this in a way. We're talking about -- we're talking about it in such a theoretical fashion. You say that -- that nuclear devices have gone off in the United States, more are planned, and we're wondering about whether waterboarding would be a -- a bad thing to do? I'm looking for 'Jack Bauer' at that time, let me tell you. And -- and there is -- there is nothing -- if you are talking about -- I mean, we are the last best hope of Western civilization. And so all of the theories that go behind our activities subsequent to these nuclear attacks going off in the United States, they go out the window because when -- when we go under, Western civilization goes under. So you better take that into account, and you better do every single thing you can as president of the United States to make sure, number one, it doesn't happen -- that's right -- but number two, you better respond in a way that makes them fearful of you because otherwise you guarantee something like this will happen" May 15, 2007 Tom Tancredo Top    Thompson, Fred (R) - Pro Fred Thompson, former U.S. Senator (R-TN), stated in a Nov. 1, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article titled "Fred Thompson, in S.F., Calls Civil Unions 'Not a Good Idea'": "As a general proposition, I've always thought that when you get right down to it, the measures have to meet the situation. If our country is faced with an imminent loss of lives of innocent Americans, and we have someone - and we're confident enough in our intelligence to be secure in the knowledge that this person has important information that could save the lives of innocent Americans - all I can say is that as president ... the measures will always meet the circumstances. And I will do what I think is in the best interest of my country." Nov. 1, 2007 Fred Thompson Top      Thompson, Tommy (R) - None Found   Withdrew on Sep. 12, 2007; no position found as of that date Top      Vilsack, Tom (D) - None Found   Withdrew on Feb. 23, 2007; no position found as of that date

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