THE arrest of a US soldier accused of sticking his daughter's head in a sink has sparked a national debate over when it is acceptable to water-board a child.
Across America liberals and conservatives have clashed after army Sergeant Joshua Tabor was charged with using CIA-style interrogation methods to extract an apology from his wayward four year-old.
Fox News political commentator, Nathan Muir, said: "As usual the east coast liberals are defining this incident in terms of 'civil rights' and 'due process'.
"But surely we must not rush to judgement until we know the full facts. Two vital questions remain – has this child been brainwashed by Osama Bin Laden, or is she in fact gathering intelligence for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez?
"If and when she is confirmed as an Al Qaeda sleeper cell or a Venezuelan spy, will the liberal intelligentsia finally admit they were wrong? Unlike our little Chavez-loving, Islamo-fascist friend, I will not be holding my breath."
Former vice-president, Dick Cheney, added: "May I remind America that we are at war and war is brutal, it is ugly and it is wet. Who among us would not be willing to subject one four year-old girl to extraordinary rendition in order to save the lives of millions of other four year-old girls?
"It is both sad and troubling that our current president and his friends in the United Nations seem to determined to protect the rights of four year-old children regardless of their intentions towards this country."
Meanwhile, many ordinary citizens were horrified to discover that the child had been punished because of a spelling test.
Wayne Hayes, from Bellwood, Arkansas, said: "If ah found out one of ma little-uns had been learnin' how to spell any word other than 'Jesus' ah'd put a bag on his head, make him stand on a chair and attach electric wires to his doo-hickey."
Mr Hayes added: "That little girl musta done somethin' real bad otherwise why would her daddy think she was a demon? 'There's no water-torture without fire'. Some Chinese fella said that."
