U.S. Senators Announce Opposition to “Enhanced Interrogation” and “Unitary Executive”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – One month after <a href=”http://lieberman.senate.gov/newsroom/release.cfm?id=287809″>calling for a review of the video game ratings process</a> in the wake of “Manhunt 2″ receiving a “Mature” rating, Senators Joe Lieberman (ID-CT), Sam Brownback (R-KS), Evan Bayh (D-IN), and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) called for a thorough review of the video game “Enhanced Interrogation 2.” In a letter to the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), the Senators explained that the recent change in the game’s rating in the U.S. opened the door to widespread release of the game, which depicts acts of prolonged torture.

In their letter to ESRB president Patricia Vance, the Senators wrote:

“In October 2007 the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) again refused to rate a revised ‘Enhanced Interrogation 2’ stating that ‘the impact of the revisions on the bleakness and callousness of tone, or the essential nature of the gameplay, is clearly insufficient. There has been a reduction in the visual detail in some of the “interrogations,” but in others they retain their original visceral and casually sadistic nature.’ Other countries agreed and have also banned the game.

“As Americans, we cannot countenance the digital representation of inhumane interrogation techniques like waterboarding and long-term sleep deprivation. This is not simply a matter of our children’s entertainment; it speaks profoundly to our character as a nation, albeit only in a virtual sense.”

Senators Lieberman and Clinton added, in a separate statement, that they were also concerned about the video game “Unitary Executive,” which apparently encourages children to read Article II of the United States Constitution so as to override the separation of powers and set the President above the law. “The Presidency as envisioned in this video game is an utterly autocratic institution,” wrote Senator Lieberman. “In fact, the game teaches children to have nothing but contempt for Congress and the judiciary. ‘Unitary Executive’ is a dangerous, deeply corrosive video game that effectively allows players to establish a virtual dictatorship in America, and we must oppose its sale and distribution with all the power of the United States Senate. Our very integrity as an institution is at stake.”

Senator Clinton did not comment specifically on “Unitary Executive,” but did say, through an aide, that if she were to become President, virtual opposition to virtual torture would be among her top priorities.