Petraeus resurrected the ticking time-bomb scenario while giving testimony:
Petraeus said "there should be discussion … by policymakers and by Congress" about something "more than the normal techniques." Petraeus… described an example of a detainee who knows how to disarm a nuclear device set to explode under the Empire State Building.
Ackerman fears the general has re-opened the door to torture:
Petraeus hardly reversed course and endorsed torture. But there are many Republicans in Congress who thought Obama made a big mistake by banning it. If Congress revisits the interrogation debate at Petraeus’ behest, torture might very well return to U.S. interrogations.
Greg Sargent extends Petraeus's logic:
By endorsing torture in this “special circumstance,” Petraeus has implicitly conceded two things—that torture is so effective that it might be of use in an extraordinary circumstance, and that it’s morally defensible. Neither of those things happens to be true—and previously, Petraeus had made that clear.
Friedersdorf piles on.
The Dish 