Andrew Sullivan — "Verschärfte Vernehmung"

The phrase "Verschärfte Vernehmung" is German for "enhanced interrogation". Other translations include "intensified interrogation" or "sharpened interrogation". It's a phrase that appears to have been concocted in 1937, to describe a form of torture that would leave no marks, and hence save the embarrassment pre-war Nazi officials were experiencing as their wounded torture victims ended up in court. The methods, as you can see above, are indistinguishable from those described as "enhanced interrogation techniques" by the president. As you can see from the Gestapo memo, moreover, the Nazis were adamant that their "enhanced interrogation techniques" would be carefully restricted and controlled, monitored by an elite professional staff, of the kind recommended by Charles Krauthammer, and strictly reserved for certain categories of prisoner. At least, that was the original plan.…

The parallels are amazing and the Nazi preps were later held accountable for torture — and "following orders" was no excuse.

Critics will no doubt say I am accusing the Bush administration of being Hitler. I'm not. There is no comparison between the political system in Germany in 1937 and the U.S. in 2007. What I am reporting is a simple empirical fact: the interrogation methods approved and defended by this president are not new. Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used by the president to describe torture-that-isn't-somehow-torture - "enhanced interrogation techniques" - is a term originally coined by the Nazis. The techniques are indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death.

The Atlantic — The Daily Dish (May 29, 2007)
"Verschärfte Vernehmung"
Andrew Sullivan
h/t Washington's Blog

Ray McGovern confirms.

The same interrogation techniques, employed by the CIA, can also be found in the Gestapo handbook, former CIA analyst Raymond McGovern told Sputnik.

"Enhanced interrogation" is a direct literal translation of the German "verschaerfte vernehmung" – and that's what the Gestapo manual called the same techniques. Whether the US knew this literal translation or not, it is still quite ironic that the techniques are the same, including waterboarding," McGovern, who worked at the CIA for over 40 years, said Tuesday.

Sputnik
US Enhanced Interrogation Akin to ‘Gestapo’ Tactics: Former CIA Analyst
As a human being, I am appalled

As an American, I am ashamed.

As a veteran, I am betrayed.

See also

Washington's Blog
US Military Officials, UN, Human Rights Groups Call On Responsible American Officials to be Prosecuted for Torture
WashingtonsBlog

Postscript: Instead of prosecuting torturers, Obama prosecuted the guy who blew the whistle on the program.