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Apparently, the Blair apple didn't fall very far from the Bush tree.

The Guardian reports that members of Parliament are skeptical they have learned the full story of the use of torture by the Ministry of Defence:

The MoD is also accused in today's report by the joint select committee on human rights of blocking their inquiries by refusing to explain why such senior figures appeared unaware that the use of torture techniques by British soldiers may have been officially sanctioned.

Both Ingram and Brims, who won the Distinguished Service Order for his leadership in Iraq, assured the committee that interrogation techniques such as hooding and sleep deprivation, banned under the Geneva convention, would never be used and that troops received training to that effect.

Yet MPs said their claims contradicted evidence that British soldiers in Iraq routinely used such methods based on legal advice received from Brigade headquarters. The report adds that even at the start of 2008 an official army investigation had found that the prohibition on their use was still not 'clearly being articulated' to ordinary soldiers.

Once again, senior military leaders either specifically authorized torture, or let it be known that it was okay to use so-called "extreme" measures. And what is the result? Wide-spread abuse, not just the occasional "bad apple" that usually gets the blame.

And of course, if you move the bounds of what is acceptable, then the boundaries for what's unacceptable move as well. Guess what? You are now more likely to see atrocities like this:

Evidence heard during the court martial into the death of Iraqi civilian Baha Musa in British custody in 2003 heard that soldiers were instructed by those higher up the chain of command in Basra to use 'conditioning techniques', including putting prisoners in stress positions and hooding them, to prepare detainees for tactical questioning.

Musa, a hotel receptionist, was beaten to death in Basra in September 2003. Ninety-three injuries were found on the 26-year-old's body. Government lawyers recently agreed to pay almost £3m in compensation to Musa's father and others abused in the Iraqi detention centre.

We can't let this issue just disappear once the Bush Crime Machine leaves office. We've got to move the boundaries back into the realm of human decency and make them crystal clear to all concerned.

Still not convinced the US tortures? Read the ACLU report Administration of Torture. Then weep for your country.