White House Endorsed Waterboarding In Secret Memos

Washington Post:

The Bush administration issued a pair of secret memos to the CIA in 2003 and 2004 that explicitly endorsed the agency's use of interrogation techniques such as waterboarding against al-Qaeda suspects -- documents prompted by worries among intelligence officials about a possible backlash if details of the program became public.

The classified memos, which have not been previously disclosed, were requested by then-CIA Director George J. Tenet more than a year after the start of the secret interrogations, according to four administration and intelligence officials familiar with the documents. Although Justice Department lawyers, beginning in 2002, had signed off on the agency's interrogation methods, senior CIA officials were troubled that White House policymakers had never endorsed the program in writing.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[sheila]

YOU ARE NOT MY PRESIDENT!!! NEVER WERE, NEVER WILL BE.

TO THE REST OF THE WORLD, PLEASE BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY THAT AMERICANS ARE NOT ALL SAVAGES. IF YOU WANT TO CHASE THESE CREEPS DOWN AND TRY THEM AS INTERNATIONAL WAR CRIMINALS, WE WON'T STOP YOU.

[Sinister Minister]

So Tenent wanted his orders in writing. Cool. As I recall tough the Nuremberg trials set the precedent that following orders was not a defense for crimes against humanity. Do they really think having the orders in writing clears them?

[peacegurl48]

Palin would fit right in with this kind of "ethics" and secrecy. Shameful.

[sonoffestus]

What a sad and pathetic country we have become....­..........­......

[neuron]

And the people doing this are our next door neighbors...

[formerprosecutor]

Imagine being married to a person that tortures other humans for living..."Hi Honey; how was your day?"

[RoveRoveRoveYourBoat]

...why not sell corporate advertising on the choke rags......or at least use an american flag.

[boing007]

International War Crimes. Send them to the Hague, without any delay. Except Tom, of course.

[thepianodiva]

Look at that picture. Can you even imagine doing it-holding down another human being like that and pouring water over his face, scaring the daylights out of him. it's not only heartbreaking-it is shabby and unworthy. What does it do to a person to participate in something like that. It is cancer of the soul.

[carriellbee]

You have to have a thing before it can become cancerous...

[Collielady]

This is clearly a violation of international law. And, as a previous commenter stated, who knows what else has been done in our name?

B*sh is all about the death penalty. Investigate and indict.

[thegirlnextdoor]

Jail time - for this and other crimes.

[RGuillory]

Numb. . . disgusted . . . ashamed. . . . those hardly begin to cover my feelings about the way the Bush administration conducts the business of governance and democracy in America. I think this post on American mediocrity says it all pretty perfectly.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alan-cumming/why-is-america-so-content_b_134325.html#postComment

Thanks for your great article.

[formerprosecutor]

Call me cynical; but my gut tells far more techniques were used than waterboarding. Tip of the iceberg. No one will ever admit it , for they would be among the guilty. My father worked for the agency from 1956 to 1963 in Central America ( United Fruit, et al). They had little "rules" except not getting caught. I can't imagine things would have been much different under Bush.

[carriellbee]

I agree. This is only the tip of the iceberg.

[ChiGuy]

I'm numb.
How many hits can a psyche take, before the feeling of anger and revulsion can no longer rise to the surface?

George, your legacy as the worst president in the history of the United States, is sealed.

[truthyguy]

Thank God this incompetent idiot will be out of the White House in 3 months.

By any standard Bush has been the worst president ever. And as for Cheney, words are inadequate to express what a loathsome character he is. Our long nightmare will soon be over and we can get on to correcting the damage done by the republicans led by this team of lying schemers.

[Moshe]

Torture is illegal under U.S. law, and war crimes are a violation of international law.

Laws that are not enforced in the present are not respected in the future.

If we intend to have a nation under the Rule of Law in the future, we had damned well hold those that knowingly broke our laws accountable now.

Torture is a crime against humanity, this isn't just some policy issue to be debated. Torture is evil, condemned by all decent humans, and a violation of any legitimate system of laws.

Prosecute those that are responsible for torture.

If we fail to do so, we will have passively accepted torture as a legitimate investigative technique.

No doubt some of your worst local police vermin will be delighted to hear that.

It won't be so great for you and your family though. Just ask those that have lived in nations where torture was common.