Shocking evidence from a classified Senate Armed Services Committee report released last week makes the most compelling case to date that senior Bush administration officials intentionally lied about torture.
Under the bright lights of national news cameras, President Bush and Secretary Rumsfeld described the horrors of Abu Ghraib as acts committed by a “few bad apples,” when in fact, they were actively encouraging the armed forces to torture prisoners at detention centers worldwide.
The details in this and other documents recently released should send chills down your spine. They confirm our worst nightmares about the types of interrogation tactics approved, including slamming suspects into walls, waterboarding 2 individuals a combined 266 times and exploiting another’s fear of insects by confining him in a box with an insect.
Horrifying as they are, these details only scratch the surface of what our 50 years of experience interviewing victims of torture tells us. We know that abuse always escalates over time, especially when sanctioned at the highest levels.
The administration’s response? Give torturers a free pass. The Obama administration announced recently that it would guarantee immunity to CIA officials and others who carried out clearly illegal interrogation tactics. This action directly contradicts the administration’s assertions that nobody is above the law.
The President and others in his administration have begun to change their tune in response to mounting public outcry. And now Obama has signaled that he may leave the door open for further investigation of those in the highest rungs of power in the Bush administration.
This moment represents a crucial opening in the fight for accountability. It’s a chance to finally slap the cuffs on those who authorized interrogators to take the gloves off and ensure that those responsible for abuse are held to account for the irreparable harm they’ve caused.
And most importantly, it’s an acknowledgment that accountability is the only way to put an end to the failed policies of detention without trial and detainee abuse.
What happens next will determine whether the whole story about Bush-era torture will see the light of day or remain shrouded in secrecy. We need to ensure that a non-partisan independent commission leads the investigation, and that it’s free from political influences, has subpoena power and enough money to pursue the truth.
6 comments ↓
It’s my opinion that those who have the power to shield the Bush/Cheney criminals become accomplices to the crime when they do so. How much patience will we show in waiting….?
From top to bottom, nearly this entire federal government is corrupt, complicit and/or criminal.
Don’t hold your breath unless you look good in purple!
I definitely won’t be holding my breath. Really, all I expect is to find out after Obama is gone, that he was doing just the same or worse.
I don’t believe this country can put up with anything worse than Bush. The best hope of the Republicans, who kept Bush in for eight years, is that somehow that they can persuade the people of America that something is worse than Bush.
You might recall in the run up to the election that the Republican story was that Obama wasn’t experienced enough and that he was worse than McCain because of Ayers.
Before the last vote was counted the Republican mantra was that everything was Obama’s fault. Their campaign was the most disingenuous I have seen in my 71 years. They couldn’t run on their accomplishments so they ran on fear. This is why I rail against the Republican Party.
They supported the worst president in Americas History because he was the head of their party. They knew he was the worst, but that didn’t matter, they were Party disciples, not American first people.
There is nothing more un- American than Party over Country.
The Republicans do not deserve another chance. When are we all going to admit that and start promoting a replacement Party?
Complaining about one party or another is JUST what they want you to do. That distracts you from the real problem – that the government commits the same crimes no matter who’s in charge. The parties may bicker in public, but in reality, their goals are the same. More power for them, and less liberty for you and I.
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