Pete King: Pompeo would bring ‘realistic approaches’ like waterboarding

Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-Kan.), nominated by President-elect Donald Trump to lead the CIA, will bring back “realistic approaches” such as waterboarding to the agency, Rep. Pete King (R-N.Y.) said Monday. 

{mosads}”I believe that Mike Pompeo represents more realistic approaches. I think [President Obama] has been too politically correct, and I think Mike Pompeo is saying we’re up against an existential enemy, and we have to use certain resources we may not have used in the past.” 

Obama banned harsh techniques known as “enhanced interrogations” — such as waterboarding — within his first 100 days in office. Many consider the practice to be torture.

But Trump has threatened to bring back “waterboarding and a lot worse” as president, saying the U.S. has to “fight fire with fire” to combat ISIS. 

Pompeo supports Trump’s position that perhaps waterboarding should be reinstated. 

King said Monday that he does not consider waterboarding to be torture. 

“I support waterboarding. I would support it today. It is not torture. I do not consider it to be torture at all,” King said. 

But other Republicans have said they will oppose any calls from the Trump administration to bring back the practice, which simulates drowning. 

“I don’t give a damn what the president of the United States wants to do. We will not waterboard,” Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Saturday. 

“We will not torture people … It doesn’t work.”