Closing In on the Torturers = by Ray McGovern

[L. Coyote]

Closing In on the Torturers
By Ray McGovern - August 26, 2009 - http://www.consortiumnews.com/2009/082609a.html

Do you think the wardens will let George Tenet wear his Presidential Medal of Freedom over the orange coverall?

Perhaps he and Donald Rumsfeld will end up doing time together in one of the prisons also slated to host what Rumsfeld called “the worst of the worst” from Guantanamo.

That would be poetic justice of a most ironic kind. And if the two former leaders do end up in prison they can count themselves fortunate for having dodged execution for their roles in a slew of capital offenses.

You see, punishments for violations of the War Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. 2441), applicable in their case, include the death penalty — often the sentence of choice if detainees die in their custody. And countless have.

Before you question my sanity, please know that I just completed the arduous task of reading the aging but devastating CIA Inspector General’s report on torture.

Sickening

You can be forgiven for holding your nose while paging through the redacted version of the “CIA Inspector General’s Special Review of Counterterrorism Detention and Interrogation Activities (September 2001 – October 2003).” Although heavily sanitized, it is still nauseating.

You can not be easily forgiven, though, if you don’t make the effort to read with care at least some of ..............

[centristgrandpa]

1. “the worst of the worst”

If given time, Team Obama will right the many wrongs...not all but many.


(Source quote) The Obama administration has taken important steps toward repairing the grievous harm that President George W. Bush d...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/26/opinion/26wed1.html

[L. Coyote]

4. From the mouthpiece that covered up illegal spying so criminal W could win re-election!

Like we should trust the NY Times :rofl:

[centristgrandpa]

6. their opinion section is second to none...n/t

[JDPriestly]

2. Is there a direct link to the report?

Where is it?

[Solly Mack]

3. K&R

[L. Coyote]

5. Seven Points on the CIA Report

Seven Points on the CIA Report
http://harpers.org/archive/2009/08/hbc-90005599


You can catch my review of the CIA Inspector General John Helgerson’s report on BBC’s “The World” or on MSNBC’s Live with Carlos Watson today at 11 ET. Here, in the meantime, are seven points that I draw from it:

1.

The worst is yet to come. Yesterday the CIA released a fresh copy of the report with roughly half of the “case study” discussion now unmasked. But context and placement suggest that the material that remains concealed contains some of the worst discussion of abuse in the report. The heavy redactions start around page 25, and the redactions cover discussion of the origins of the program and the approval process, as well as the discussion of specific prisoners, notably Abu Zubaydah, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, and Khalid Shaikh Mohammad. Although cases in which the guidelines provided by the Justice Department were exceeded have been discussed, it’s likely the case that the still blacked-out passages cover instances where Justice gave a green light but the conduct was so gruesome that CIA wants to keep it under wraps. That means we haven’t heard the last of the Helgerson report, and further disclosures are likely.
2.

Opposition from within. For years the CIA has said that CIA personnel would be demoralized and the reputation of the agency would be damaged by disclosure of the contents of the report. But the report documents just the opposite. ....