[Ppnews] Unrepentent, Bush Denies Torture

Political Prisoner News ppnews at freedomarchives.org
Thu Oct 11 12:24:06 EDT 2007


http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=80&ItemID=14011

Unrepentent, Bush Denies Torture
by Marjorie Cohn; October 11, 2007


The April 2004 publication of grotesque 
photographs of naked Iraqis piled on top of each 
other, forced to masturbate, and led around on 
leashes like dogs, sent shock waves around the 
world. George W. Bush declared, “I shared a deep 
disgust that those prisoners were treated the way 
they were treated.” Yet less than a year later, 
his Justice Department issued a secret opinion 
endorsing the harshest techniques the CIA has 
ever used, according to an October 4, 2007 report 
in the New York Times. These include head 
slapping, frigid temperatures, and water 
boarding, in which the subject is made to feel he 
is drowning. Water boarding is widely considered 
a torture technique. Once again, Bush is 
compelled to issue a denial. He insists, “This 
government does not torture people."

This was not the first time the Bush 
administration had officially endorsed torture, 
however. John Yoo, writing for the Justice 
Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, penned an 
August 2002 memorandum that rewrote the legal 
definition of torture to require the equivalent 
of organ failure. This memo violated the 
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, 
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, a 
treaty the United States ratified, and therefore 
part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution.



In December 2002, former Secretary of Defense 
Donald Rumsfeld approved interrogation methods 
that included the use of dogs, hooding, stress 
positions, isolation for up to 30 days, 20-hour 
interrogations, deprivation of light and sound, 
and water boarding. U.S. Navy General Counsel 
Alberto Mora told William Haynes, the Pentagon’s 
general counsel, that Rumsfeld’s “authorized 
interrogation techniques could rise to the level 
of torture.” As a result, Rumsfeld rescinded some 
methods but reserved the right to approve others, 
including water boarding, on a case-by-case basis.



When Bush maintained earlier this week that his 
government doesn’t torture prisoners, he stressed 
the need for interrogation to “protect the 
American people.” Notwithstanding the myth 
perpetuated by shows like “24,” however, torture 
doesn’t work. Experts agree that people who are 
tortured will say anything to make the torture stop.



One of the first victims of the Bush 
administration’s 2002 torture policy was Abu 
Zubaydah, whom they called “chief of operations” 
for al Qaeda and bin Laden’s “number three man.” 
He was repeatedly tortured at the secret CIA 
“black sites.” They water boarded him, withheld 
his medication, threatened him with impending 
death, and bombarded him with continuous deafening noise and harsh lights.



But Zubaydah wasn’t a top al Qaeda leader. Dan 
Coleman, one of the FBI's leading experts on al 
Qaeda, said of Zubaydah, "He knew very little 
about real operations, or strategy 
 He was 
expendable, you know, the greeter . . . Joe Louis 
in the lobby of Caeser's Palace, shaking hands." 
Moreover, Zubaydah was schizophrenic; according 
to Coleman, “This guy is insane, certifiable 
split personality.” Coleman's views were echoed 
at the top levels of the CIA and were 
communicated to Bush and Cheney. But Bush scolded 
CIA director George Tenet, saying, "I said 
[Zubaydah] was important. You're not going to let 
me lose face on this, are you?" Zubaydah's minor 
role in al Qaeda and his apparent insanity were kept secret.



In response to the torture, Zubaydah told his 
interrogators about myriad terrorist targets al 
Qaeda had in its sights: the Brooklyn Bridge, the 
Statute of Liberty, shopping malls, banks, 
supermarkets, water systems, nuclear plants, and 
apartment buildings. Al Qaeda was close to 
building a crude nuclear bomb, Zubaydah reported. 
None of this was corroborated but the Bush gang 
reacted to each report zealously.



Likewise, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, considered the 
mastermind of the September 11 attacks, was 
tortured so severely – including by water 
boarding – that the information he provided is 
virtually worthless. A potentially rich source of 
intelligence was lost as a result of the torture.



Bush’s insistence that his administration doesn't 
torture rings hollow. He lied about weapons of 
mass destruction and a Saddam-al Qaeda connection 
in Iraq. He lied when he assured us his officials 
would not wiretap without warrants. As evidence 
of secret memos detailing harsh interrogation 
policies continues to emerge, we can't believe Bush's denials about torture.



Democrats in Congress have demanded they be 
allowed to see the memos, but Bush said the 
interrogation methods have been "fully disclosed 
to appropriate members of Congress." Senator John 
D. Rockefeller IV was unmoved. "I'm tired of 
these games," he said. "They can't say that 
Congress has been fully briefed while refusing to 
turn over key documents used to justify the legality of the program."



It is incumbent upon the Senate Judiciary 
Committee to vigorously interrogate Michael 
Mukasey during his attorney general confirmation 
hearing. As AG, Mukasey would oversee the 
department that writes interrogation policy. 
Mukasey should know the Convention Against 
Torture prohibits torture in all circumstances, even in times of war.



Torture is a war crime. Those who commit or order 
torture can be convicted under the U.S. War 
Crimes Statute. Techniques that don't rise to the 
level of torture but constitute cruel, inhuman or 
degrading treatment or punishment also violate 
U.S. law. Congress should provide for the 
appointment of a special independent counsel to 
fully investigate and prosecute all who are 
complicit in the torture and mistreatment of prisoners in U.S. custody.



Originally published on Jurist





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