At least we waterboard them afterward. See? All clean!

Bush has been taking a hammering in the press this week. Which doesn't bode well for his efforts to convince the nation that in spite of everything we read, see or hear, things in Iraq are really, really super. Now all that pesky prisoner abuse means the White House has to brush off that 'a few bad apples' defense again, too. What a hassle!

In the windowless, jet-black garage-size room, some soldiers beat prisoners with rifle butts, yelled and spit in their faces and, in a nearby area, used detainees for target practice in a game of jailer paintball. Their intention was to extract information to help hunt down Iraq's most-wanted terrorist, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to Defense Department personnel who served with the unit or were briefed on its operations.

The Black Room was part of a temporary detention site at Camp Nama, the secret headquarters of a shadowy military unit known as Task Force 6-26. Located at Baghdad International Airport, the camp was the first stop for many insurgents on their way to the Abu Ghraib prison a few miles away.

Placards posted by soldiers at the detention area advised, "NO BLOOD, NO FOUL." The slogan, as one Defense Department official explained, reflected an adage adopted by Task Force 6-26: "If you don't make them bleed, they can't prosecute for it." According to Pentagon specialists who worked with the unit, prisoners at Camp Nama often disappeared into a detention black hole, barred from access to lawyers or relatives, and confined for weeks without charges. "The reality is, there were no rules there," another Pentagon official said.

Oh, and Happy Third Anniversary, Iraq! Let's see, the traditional gift is leather. I've got it-- ten crates of bullwhips. Perfect!