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.
What a neat little murderous, totalitarian racket that is.
She's in big trouble now! LOL Foot in mouth disease.
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.
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.
prosecution- based on facts and people are working behind the scenes--
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.
Still, it needs to be done. It's just that the country still lacks the poltical will to do what needs to be done.
If you do not believe it, watch the following movie...
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-223865000828471342
Whenever Republicans open their mouth they are telling lies or meating the next door neighbor in the stalls of an airport bathroom.
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
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).
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?
What a joke.
Keeping their attention on getting revenge on Bush/Cheney will ultimately bite Dems when something bad happens again.
Not revenge, Mom. Justice.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/05/13/obama-broke-his-word-on-d_n_203065.html