How Can You Not Have Bush, Cheney and Gonzales Prosecuted?

The roles of Bush, Cheney and Gonzales in the torture process was always less clear than the roles of the lawyers who justified it -- Jay Bybee, John Yoo and David Addington. No longer.

The question is no longer, should you, or can you, prosecute Bush, Cheney and Gonzales for authorizing torture. The question is, how can we say we live under a system of law and not have them prosecuted for conspiracy to commit war crimes.

It was only just a matter of time until the higher-ups would be specifically implicated. It was John Dean who, after a year of relative inaction in the Watergate probe, began describing his role in Watergate and began naming names. Now, the men and women in America who were carrying out Bush's orders are locating him in the chain of responsibility.

Bush, Cheney and Gonzales did not rely on vague or carefully couched memos. Gonzales -- acting at the direction of Cheney and with the acquiescence (if not direction) of Bush, was direct. Gonzales countermanded the direct orders of the FBI operatives in the field, as well as George Tenet. He did not write nuanced legal memorandums to get past the Geneva Conventions or the War Torture Act. He simply ignored it.

When a highly respected former Bureau agent, Ali Soufan, said stop using brutal interrogation techniques against Abu Zubaydah in 2002, because it is both torture and was counterproductive, Gonzales directed his man, James Mitchell, to continue. This was before the torture memos were circulated.

Zubaydah was waterboarded 83 times.

"We're the United States, we don't do this," Soufan said. Gonzales replied, do it, says Soufan.
Soufan wanted to arrest Mitchell, the man Gonzales sent in to oversee the torture. He could not.
Cheney, who directed Gonzales, tells us Bush knew all about it. In ordering these policies, Bush, Cheney and Gonzales are all guilty of conspiracy to commit war crimes.

It is becoming easier and easier to prove in a criminal court. Let a jury of 12 American jurors decide who is responsible.

Comments

[ProfessorDuh]

Send the troops to bomb, invade and occupy a nation that never attacked or threatened you, using lies as your justification. Then cover up any evidence of the horrors they are ordered to inflict on the subjugated citizens by shrieking, "Protect the troops."
What a neat little murderous, totalitarian racket that is.

[R2D2-51]

Yeh, and tell me the difference between that and Adolph Hiler's "Scorched Earth Policy" when he invaded the former Soviet Union on June 21st 1941?

[R2D2-51]

I can't imagine what the German people must be thinking right now!

[R2D2-51]

Yeh, do you remember wy Britain & France declared war on German in Sept. 1939?

Ans: Like Bush using a wag the dog fabrication just like WMD (elaborate hoax) saying Poland attack a German frontier outpost using Jews from concentration camps, dressed up as German guards then murdered them to use as evidence Germany was attacked, to garner German citizen support and world opinion. All of which sparked WW II.

Sound familiar.
History does not change, only the names do!

[ConservMom]

OH my gosh! Pelosi just HAD to come out again and open her big mouth. Haaaaaaa...
She's in big trouble now! LOL Foot in mouth disease.

[ConservMom]

Stop wishing. No one will be prosecuted. Obama is not going there! Get over it. You people don't know what's going on and you never will.

[rjmiller]

Thank you. I'm so tired of the "should we prosecute" argument always morphing into "whether or not it worked" arguments. It simply doesn't matter whether or not it worked. I'm sure mowing down protestors with machine guns would work to quell riots, but we don't do it because its simply wrong.

[Rog49Thomas]

Question: The question is, how can we say we live under a system of law and not have them prosecuted for conspiracy to commit war crimes.

Answer:

(1) Declaration of Independence:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness"

(2) Constitution of the United States of America:

Article 1 Section 2 Paragraph 3: "Representatives and direct Taxes shall be apportioned among the several States which may be included within this Union, according to their respective Numbers, which shall be determined by adding to the whole Number of free Persons, including those bound to Service for a Term of Years, and excluding Indians not taxed, three fifths of all other Persons."

Article 4 Section 2: No Person held to Service or Labour in one State, under the Laws thereof, escaping into another, shall, in Consequence of any Law or Regulation therein, be discharged from such Service or Labour, But shall be delivered up on Claim of the Party to whom such Service or Labour may be due."

US Supreme Court: Prigg vs Pennsylvania

It's a time honored national tradition, Martin, hypocrisy. As old as our nation.

[pjburke]

Easily one of the most egregiously abusive distortions of history ever posted. Congrats.

[Rog49Thomas]

And what is the distortion if I may ask?

Are you denying that for most of our history we practiced racism in this country? Legally sanctioned. Preached not only by politicians but by so-called people of God.

Reality is often unpleasant especially when it collides with national myths.

But it doesn't make it any less real.

[brandnewstuff]

The truth for impact of constitutional law more powerful with Judges than a man with a bag of bs lies-
prosecution- based on facts and people are working behind the scenes--

[R2D2-51]

If anyone missed the Senate sub-committee hearing on torture Wednesday, chaired by Sheldon Whitehouse, opposite Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) he did a 1st rate job of establishing a good cause foundation for further investigation and laid the groundwork for prosecutions.

Sen. Graham was fuming, squirming and you could see the smoke pouring off his wigcap, so desperate to fend off an avalanche of evidence; torture was against the law, it doesn't work, makes us less safe, caused more fatalities among our troops, was key recruiting tool for Al Qaeda. Graham gave pitiful remarks trying to give shelter to Bush/Cheney saying, “God they were scared to death of another attack, and we need to give them a pass given the pressure cooker they were in”. How _ uc_in pathetic. Sent him email demanding he resign, give up citizenship exit USA!

Noteworthy: Sen. Whitehouse in concluding the hearing read into the record written testimony from a lead team military officer who went after US. Military’s #1 wanted terrorist-AL Zawrqari in Iraq more wanted than OBL.

This officer noted waterboard­ing/tortur­e gives Al Qaeda greater resolve, #1 recruiting tool for suicide bombers, Arabs entering the terrorist network=making us less safe, led to 1,000’s of American troop deaths, versus using other non-torture methods far more reliable than torture, for the ticking bomb scenario.

This from an officer who conducted 1,000’s of field interrogations on suspected terrorists in IRAQ.

Good job Sen. Whitehouse.

[aofh]

I think I can understand why Obama and the Democratic leadership are avoiding or are reluctant to prosecute Bush Administration officials in this matter. They are afraid that Congressional Republicans and their Media enablers will make such a stink about the effort that the poltical process will come to a standstill. Remember that in 2007 when the Dems took over the House, any hint of an investigation elicited comments from the Republicans that played vigorously in the Media that the Dems were seeking revenge for the Clinton impeachment. The charge distorts the seriousness of the matter at hand requiring not only a categorical denial but a forceful argument for why it must be done. But Republican, as the last eight years exemplify, don't argue. They shout, they fight, they throw tantrums, they will allow you to listen to them, but they don't respect another opinion enough to make an effort to persuade. And they don't listen or allow themselves to be persuaded. If the Dems had another five votes in the Senate (you can't count on a couple of the folks they have), the point would be moot.

Still, it needs to be done. It's just that the country still lacks the poltical will to do what needs to be done.

[R2D2-51]

I was around during Watergate when Nixon, went down his staff went to prison, including hid AG John Mitchell.. Get a grip. War crimes are the most serious of crimes under the laws of nations. If we don't I hope Europe does, and that makes us chumps. I have higher regard for the people of this nation to do the right thing.

[Orlando]

Their organization has been above all national and international law for over 46 years.
If you do not believe it, watch the following movie...


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-223865000828471342

[WTFbush]

For once, you will see people hoping to get jury duty rather than get out of it.

[ranchomerced]

This enhanced interrogation technique issue is a bogus as the global warming issue. Had a terrorist strike had happened in Los Angeles (Stopped by the waterboarding) Bush would have been run out of the country.

[Articulator]

The terrorist attack on LA was stopped a year before the man who was waterboarded was captured. His waterboarding did not stop the attack unless the Bush admin had a secret time machine.

[ManwithaParachute]

"When the lies so big" - FZ

Whenever Republicans open their mouth they are telling lies or meating the next door neighbor in the stalls of an airport bathroom.

[MBWinters]

Greetings Citizens.....

Political Masturbation-1984 Style Revisionism-Aiding and Abetting?

It is wonderful that we can challenge the behavior of our political leaders. But it is suspect for the people in position to investigate and prosecute the question of the Bush's administration interogation practices, since they were technically aiding and abetting the behavior. Any congressional official is bound by their code of ethics to call to task any illegal conduct or behavior that is brought to their attention-Pelosi, Reid, Obama and many more were aware of these techniques long before Bush and his clan ever left office. Why did they wait? Congress has the power to investigate and indicte. What is the political motive?

As long as bloggers journalists allow themselves to be manipulated to help rewrite history for the political party in power then we are all in danger-especially the very nature of our Republic and its constitutional system...

So quit the mental mastrubation and move on to something that truly needs the publics attention....

Warm regards,

Michael Winters

[GrahamInCanada]

What would that be?

When the United States failed to ratify the the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, one of the claims that the United States made was that the United States would always be willing and able to prosecute American war crimes, and so it would never be necessary for the International Criminal Court to take jurisdiction.

Nevertheless, the International Criminal Court can take jurisdiction in one of several ways, for any crime after July 1, 2002. One method would be for the United States to ratify the Rome Statute (yes, it would be recognizing the courts authority back to July 1, 2002), like the rest of the free world and most of the rest of the world did long ago.

Also, some nations are willing to prosecute foreign nationals for war crimes if the national's home country fails or refuses to do so.

While the thought that the US President alone in this world is above law, immune, and possessed of ultimate impunity may be a self indulgent fantasy of some, for most it is obvious that the President of the United States is not above the law, either inside or outside of the United States.

And although the sitting President receives pro tem all the courtesies and immunities of diplomacy, former Presidents only receive the courtesies (or not).

[Articulator]

They guy driving the car is responsible for how fast it goes. The Dems were a minority in Congress at the time the right wing talking heads were viciously attacking anyone who questioned their dear leader. The intelligence agencies are in the executive branch of govt, George was their boss, not anyone in Congress. It is part of George's job to direct what went on in the intelligence agencies. Congress is far more removed from the day to day goings on and the Bush admin went to extremes to thwart oversight and maintain secrecy. Heck, Dick didnt even tell George about many things. Dick claimed he was not in the executive branch so he could skirt email archival laws. The whole Bush admin used the RNC's email system to do the same (skirt archival laws). Scooter Libby lied to hold up an investigation of treason during a time of war, and had his sentence commuted. Gonzales is the only bush admin official to honor the subpoena and show up before Congress - anyone who listened to his testimony care to try to make an argument that he didnt lie? Bush tried to cut the legs out from the Freedom of Information act. The Bush admin was at the wheel.

[ManwithaParachute]

I recall more than a few discussions involving those on the security committee who stated they were given little info during briefings and were forbidden to take notes or record and on top of that it was illegal to discuss the briefings and could result in charges of treason. In addition there were segregated briefings Repubs only and Dems only.

[Articulator]

Yes, I have the same recollections.

[tc2598]

Or, a more simple solution, is you could quit reading theblogs you object to, that way those of us who want to read them still can.

[MBWinters]

Greetings...

Thank you for your advice...I agree that my effort may be futile in trying to awake those who are asleep with ignorance, dreaming about things that have been created to keep them distracted and occupied...

My comments are an attempt to bring you to the crossroads of your existence in a Matrix styled world....you have a choice-take the blue pill and this will be nothing more than a dream when you awake; or you can take the red pill to journey down the rabbit hole to find the real truth...a truth that only a few understand and few embrace....

Warm regards,

Michael Winters

[kimleehan]

Howdy doody was the name of the t.v. show, but the star of the show was Buffalo Bob, and clarabell. Howdy Doody was just a dummy.

[overcat]

Better yet, we should turn them over to an international court. I frankly don't trust Americans to offer justice on this issue. Let them stand in the same docket as the Serbian war criminals and face the same judges.

[sloLes]

Have patience. Our former president is likely to join Bashir od Sudan, as an indicted war criminal. And our friends and enemies, who hold all our financial paper, are likely to squeeze cooperation from us. Then, all the 'get tough' A..holes will be faced with coooperating or losing their jobs and permanently parking their oversized pickup trucks. Finally, the really thick will begin to understand that exporting our jobs and becoming a financial basket case isn't safety!

But it's going to take time. Even here, on HP, there was a story today about American Idol. I bet that it got more reads and more comments than this story. We've really become slaves to the 'boob tube!' Ignorance doeswn't disappear overnight. There are a lot of hard lessons ahead for this country. And most of the people who supposedly represent us, actually represent the people who paid for their election campaigns. So, is it so surprising that Obama is behaving like Bush?

[judgej]

I agree with Overcat that they need to be tried in an internation court.We need to send them to the Hague and let them be tried as the war criminals that they are. But it is not because we can't offer justice here. Our congress has more important things to do. It does not need a distracting spectacle here for our congress to deal with, like Ken Starr's wasteful sideshow was to stimie the Clinton administration.

[contemporarymom]

Hmmm I see Huffington hasn't an article on Obama going back on his word for transparency and showing the photos. As President he is entitled to change his mind, yet this "transparency" that Obama campaigned on was a big issue. Perhaps too many Dems would be sucked into the sink hole of what they knew about torture and yet did nothing that the importance of transperancy isn't so important right now, is just selective.

What a joke.

Keeping their attention on getting revenge on Bush/Cheney will ultimately bite Dems when something bad happens again.

[LeftVetPatriot]

Did your loved one die because of Bush/Cheney treachery?
Not revenge, Mom. Justice.

[justmeinAz]

Guess you missed it:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/13/obama-broke-his-word-on-d_n_203065.html

[pjburke]

The "revenge" line doesn't work. It has no substance and makes everyone who uses into both a crime-lover and a criminal worshipper. Find a new frame.

[contemporarymom]

Just watch, we will see where justice is played out on this issue. Those hoping for justice won't find it and it wont come from Obama and won't hit Bush.

Because as this goes on, you will learn what Dems played a role and no one wants to go there.