The decision to torture individuals was made by Bush and Cheney before the CIA ever asked for legal

[mod mom]

cover.

from Andrew Sullivan:

16 Dec 2008 07:55 am
Cheney Confesses To A War Crime



ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl gets the following out of Cheney:

KARL: Did you authorize the tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed?
CHENEY: I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency, in effect, came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn't do. And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it.
KARL: In hindsight, do you think any of those tactics that were used against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and others went too far?
CHENEY: I don't.
KARL: And on KSM, one of those tactics, of course, widely reported was waterboarding. And that seems to be a tactic we no longer use. Even that you think was appropriate?
CHENEY: I do.

Notice that the first statement is an absolute lie, proven by the Senate report.

The decision to torture individuals was made by Bush and Cheney before the CIA ever asked for legal cover for the torture they had been ordered to commit. The torture and abuse was planned before even the January 2002 presidential memo that authorized torture:

In December 2001, more than a month before the President signed his memorandum, the Department of Defense (DoD) General Counsel’s Office had already solicited information on detainee “exploitation” from the Joint Personnel Recovery Agency (JPRA), an agency whose expertise was in training American personnel to withstand interrogation techniques considered illegal under the Geneva Conventions.

-snip
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2008/12/cheney-confesse.html

[xiamiam]

1. first cheney interview in a long time..how many outright lies did he tell...

wmd...one,...and this...outright lies which he doesnt care if we know or not...another "so what"..

[EFerrari]

2. They were toturing people here before we invaded Afghanistan.

It was taped. That's how we know. Remember the round ups after 9//11?

[Solly Mack]

3. Yep - Ashcroft's round-ups

[EFerrari]

4. I'm glad Andrew put this up but also, notice that once again,

we're knowing for the first time something we already knew.

[Solly Mack]

5. Exactly. If people don't remember then government can pretend it is just finding out

...by pretending it is new news, they don't look as if they've been doing nothing about it for several years

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

6. And Nancy Pelosi is in up to her neck - sorry, it's the truth

http://www.afterdowningstreet.org/?q=node/29285
Pelosi and Torture
Submitted by davidswanson on Mon, 2007-12-10 22:04. Congress
By John Nichols, www.thenation.com

skip
Now, however, comes the news that Pelosi knew as early as 2002 that the U.S. was using waterboarding and other torture techniques and, far from objecting, appears to have cheered the tactics on.

The Washington Post reports that Pelosi, who was then a senior member of the House Intelligence Committee, was were informed by CIA officials at a secret briefing in September 2002, that waterboarding and other forms of torture were being used on suspected al-Queda operatives. That’s bad. Even worse is the revelation that Pelosi was apparently supportive of the initiative.

According to the news reports, Pelosi has no complaint about waterboarding during a closed-door session she attended with Florida Congressman Porter Goss, a Republican who would go on to head the Central Intelligence Agency, Kansas Republican Senator Pat Roberts and Florida Democratic Senator Bob Graham.

“The reaction in the room was not just approval, but encouragement,” recalls Goss.



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http://jonathanturley.org/2008/07/31/speaker-pelosi-declares-that-there-is-no-evidence-of-any-crime-by-president-bush/

Speaker Pelosi Declares There Is No Evidence of Any Crime by President Bush
Jonathan Turley July 31 2008

After blocking any serious investigation or impeachment hearings on crimes committed by President Bush, Speaker Nancy Pelosi finally addressed the allegations of presidential crimes on that forum of deep intellectual and legal thought: the television show The View. She agreed to answer a question from Joy Behar, who will have to suffice as a substitute for Peter Rodino. In a perfectly bizarre moment, Pelosi stated that there is simply no evidence of any crime committed by the President despite the findings of the International Red Cross, various international groups, and a legion of constitutional experts. It seems that America has now had its impeachment hearing before the august body of Whoopi Goldberg, Barbara Walters, Joy Bahar, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck. If you feared that our democracy is de-evolving into a caricature of itself, just watch this video.

We will never prosecute the criminals or exorcise our demons with Nancy Pelosi as Speaker of the House. That's the long and the short of it. I'm sorry, but Nancy would have to go down with Bush and Cheney over the whole torture disgrace.

Personally, I think, that's the breaks Nancy when you don't object to the clearly illegal and immoral perversions of conscience and justice that were undertaken with your help and support.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

7. Kick. Cheney has brought this to the front burner. nt