Judith: "Context"? Is your argument really that Brits can't condemn the US for torturing given that some IRA prisoners were tortured? Bizarre.
No, context means context. M-W 11 defines context as "the interrelated conditions in which something exists or occurs : ENVIRONMENT, SETTING *the historical context of the war*"
Hence mere finger-pointing turns to examination of the broader context, i.e., that many nations torture. From this vantage one may condemn the US actions. Otherwise one is condemning from a false position of moral superiority. With context acknowledged, one's criticism carries more weight.
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