[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
Departments 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 Pentagons
general counsel, that Rumsfelds 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 As a result, Rumsfeld rescinded some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 doesnt torture prisoners, he stressed
the need for interrogation to protect the
American people. Notwithstanding the myth
perpetuated by shows like 24, however, torture
doesnt work. Experts agree that people who are
tortured will say anything to make the torture stop.
One of the first victims of the Bush
administrations 2002 torture policy was Abu
Zubaydah, whom they called chief of operations
for al Qaeda and bin Ladens 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 wasnt 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.
Bushs 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
Freedom Archives
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415 863-9977
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