Calls Mount to Investigate Bush-Era Officials for Torture

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Naseema Noor reports: "Senior officials under the former George W. Bush administration knowingly authorised the torture of terrorism suspects held under United States custody, a Human Rights Watch (HRW) report released here Tuesday revealed. Titled 'Getting Away with Torture,' the 107-page report presents a plethora of evidence that HRW says warrants criminal investigations against former Vice President Dick Cheney, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfield, former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director George Tenet and Bush himself, among others."

Former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. (photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Comments

+17 # Peacedragon 2011-07-12 16:05

When will we ever learn?

+49 # rm 2011-07-12 18:45

This is great. The only way to stop torture and wars of aggression is to prosecute those who do it. I'm sure the right wing will scream all over the place. but the whole world knows that torture and illegal wars were and are being committed by the US government. We need a Nuremberg
Trial for the whole lot of them, including now Barak Obama.

+23 # maddave 2011-07-12 20:19

Right wing or left wing, no administration is going to set a precedent by investigating, accusing and indicting any predecesor for of criminal action. alleged or otherwise. If sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, then such a precedent could easily hoist any past administration or official on its own petard.

Thus proving once and for all that there is some perverted sense of honor among thieves, politicians, war criminal and torturers.

+29 # angelfish 2011-07-12 21:32

I disagree, Maddave. If Bush's mendacity and incompetence is allowed to pass without investigation, we lose ALL credibility in the eyes of the World. Are we a Nation of honor and law or are we NOT? It doesn't necessarily have to be retroactive to pre-Bush Administrations , but there should be some attention paid to what has been done by these THUGS and ROGUES! We are NOT the Nazis they have made us out to be. We preach "Liberty and Justice for ALL", NOT just SOME, and NOT just the Rich and Powerful! We need some ACCOUNTABILITY!

+6 # Still_Standing 2011-07-13 14:48

So long as Mr. Obama is trotted off to The Hague along with Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, et al., this might be doable since both political parties would be under prosecution. That way, it wouldn't appear like a vendetta against one party. Since Mr. Obama is now at least as culpable of brutal war crimes as Bush, justice could not be served without his trial.

+12 # tedrey 2011-07-13 04:11

But if the Omama administration had simply declassified the appropriate material stating that there was nothing in it that would endanger national security, the perpetraters would now be in deep legal difficulty, even without the Justice Department itself having to prosecute.

+16 # rm 2011-07-13 04:18

maddave -- I am afraid that you are right about the way American politicians think -- honor among war criminals. Only this is not "honor." It is the worst of dishonor.

Obama has intervened in Spain and some other European nations to prevent prosecution of Bush Regime officials for crimes against humanity. He has told Eric Holder not investigate or prosecute any Bush Regime people.

It would have to be an independent prosecution and I don't know what that would be.

+15 # DPM 2011-07-12 21:05

A very public "mock" trial needs to be held. It needs to be highly publicized. A lot of media coverage of what ever kind can be had. Some well known people have to participate to draw that publicity. The people accused of the crimes in this article should be tried in absentia. The ruling wouldn't carry the force of law, but it would focus attention on the people and crimes. If nothing else, it would tarnish the people and their "legacy". Believe it or not, legacy is very important to those type of people.s

+21 # angelfish 2011-07-12 21:24

It's about TIME! How can we look at ourselves with ANY self-respect after what was done in OUR name. Bush sat there and said, "We DON'T Torture." He sat there and LIED in his teeth! He LIED us into this INANE never ending War and appointed imbeciles to Key Government Positions! He and the whole gang of them should be indicted and brought to Trial. WHY are they ALL above the Law? Our Scotus is overrun with Perverts and Ultra-Conservative Right-Wing Ideologues! WHO is on the side of John Q. Public and JUSTICE?

+13 # wrodwell 2011-07-12 22:35

If water boarding is not torture - like Dick Cheney and other Bush Administration officials contend - water board them in places like Syria, Egypt or Yemen. That way they can experience for themselves what they claim is not torture. However, if water boarding is purged from the US terrorist fighting arsenal, an effective substitute would have to take its place. I suggest forcing accused terrorists to go on hunting trips in Wyoming with Cheney. I'm sure they'd spill their guts in more ways than one.

+16 # futhark 2011-07-13 01:43

Not investigating these charges is a way of condoning the practice of torture and, in a functional sense, being accessory to these crimes. How the Obama administration responds will tell us definitively whether we can have any "hope" for "change". It's a "Yes, we can!" or "No, we can't!" moment for this president and this administration.

+5 # Sukumar 2011-07-13 09:44

That ship has long since sailed as far as this president and this administration are concerned.

0 # AML 2011-07-17 12:32

The sad truth is that it is not Obama's call whether to prosecute or not. He should move to change the existing laws if he seeks to 'look forward', but he can't cherry-pick those he wishes to ignore and those he wishes to honor.

+4 # SouthBrun 2011-07-13 02:35

The threat of prosecution might get some swing votes on the proposed Obama budget.

+3 # Sukumar 2011-07-13 09:49

Unlikely since Obama has made himself complicit in these crimes.

+11 # Glen 2011-07-13 03:22

If government officials of past administrations cannot be prosecuted they can be revealed, reviled, and the crimes advertised for months. Pressure to end corruption and crime may be placed accordingly.

BUT the U.S. government is rather much past caring whether they are reviled and their crimes revealed. The George W. Bush administration certainly proved that, and yes, now Obama's.

+12 # Barbara K 2011-07-13 04:29

It was the Bush Adm. who committed the tortures, and they should be prosecuted for those crimes, and for lying us into war in the first place. They only succeeded in making us the target and the enemy of the Arab world; cost a lost of American lives as well as the lives of the ones they attacked. Many more Americans were killed and maimed than the number killed in the Twin Towers collapse in the first place. Why was the Bush so anxious to give up even more lives?

+13 # TrueAmericanPatriot 2011-07-13 05:25

Quoting

It was the Bush Adm. who committed the tortures, and they should be prosecuted for those crimes, and for lying us into war in the first place. They only succeeded in making us the target and the enemy of the Arab world; cost a lost of American lives as well as the lives of the ones they attacked. Many more Americans were killed and maimed than the number killed in the Twin Towers collapse in the first place. Why was the Bush so anxious to give up even more lives?

Easy to explain, Barbara. soul-less, callous, seared-conscienced, de-humanized, evil men such as the Bushes, Cheney, Kochs, etc., see the world as "their oyster," and all other people in existence are "insignificant," according to these living abominations. I REFUSE to recognize these types as WEALTHY or RICH, as they lack any trace of HUMAN DECENCY. They have a lot of money (most of which they've acquired through "legislated theft" and oppression of the middle and working classes, resulting in a NEW GROUP of impoverished citizens called, "THE WORKING POOR." In their sickly minds, they think themselves to be "masters of the universe." Murdoch's facing a waterloo that may take him and his media mogul empire to oblivion (GOOD RIDDANCE NEWS CROCK & FAUX NEWS)! Let's all pray that Cheney, Rumsfeld, the Bushes,and all the other vermin soon follow.

+7 # in deo veritas 2011-07-13 04:54

great news! Unfortunately it will have to be somebody other than the gutless administration to do anything. We have waited for years to go after these neofascist scum with no action taken. What else can we think other than that the condemned practices are being continued. This is Bush 3.

+5 # Dale 2011-07-13 05:39

Yes,we need the equivalent of the Nuremberg trails, and put the heads of the current Dept. of Justice and Obama himself on trail for allowing impunity.
It is not possible to do this officially, but remember the Bertrand Russell tribunal of the Vietnam era, a Peoples Tribunal should be established, headed by some noted figure such as the Spanish judge who went after Gen. Pinochet. Also preparation of all the facts and make demands of the International Criminal Court in the Hague

+10 # Wunkman 2011-07-13 06:56

I was in the American Military during the 60's. NOTHING was stressed more than adherence to the rules of the Geneva Convention. We were taught if an officer told you to break those rules, you should tell him to go "blank" himself, and not worry about prosecution as the Law was on your side. There was no instance where breaking those rules was acceptable. Bush, The Deserter, either served a different country or just didn't care about obeying the Law. If it were up to me, they would all hang, Obama included for protecting them. I served my country. Bush, Chaney, Rumsfeld, Ashcroft, and others involved in the decisions to encourage torture are no different from the Spanish Inquisitors, torturing for personal gain and flaunting their unfettered power.

+3 # billy bob 2011-07-13 19:52

Thank you for illustrating what it REALLY means to serve your country.

+5 # Anarchist 23 2011-07-13 07:31

Since 911 was an inside job, Everything that has been done since 911 is false, bloody, monstrous. Until the Sheeple wake up to this fact in mass, we will continue down the path to militarized fascism, which will be brought home to our national streets. It is almost too late now. We should empty the prisons and fill them with the real criminals-politicians and bankers!

-18 # Robt Eagle 2011-07-13 10:04

So you folks have someone in mind who is honest and will bend over and let the bad guys destroy the US? Where will you all go? Will it be ok when you lovely ladies MUST wear burkas and may not drive or go to school or be alone on the street without a male accompanying her? Shame on you folks...we are at war, not a war Bush started...the bad guys attacked the US, lower Manhattan and Washington, DC. Have you forgotten already? I haven't. I saw the buildings burning and lost four very dear friends in the towers. I have two children in the Navy and one is a SEAL. You folks just are so clueless. Read "Intelligence Failure" by David Bossie to go back and find out how we got into being attacked on 11 September 2001. Get the truth instead of the BS you all think is real information. Why did 5 CIA directors all conclude there was no need to question what went on to get information after 9/11? Your assumptions and rhetoric is all false and not determined by factual account!

+1 # Torvus 2011-07-13 12:56

Why were you attacked?

+4 # billy bob 2011-07-13 17:15

Weren't we attacked by Japan in 1945 as well? As I recall (and KNOW I'M RIGHT) Japan tortured American prisoners and we NEVER repaid the favor - at least not as a matter of policy. One of the reasons we WON that war was that we had MORAL SUPERIORITY, and made damn sure the whole rest of the world knew about it. We were not only "not the bad guys", but we were THE GOOD GUYS.

We also WON. GET THAT THROUGH YOUR HEAD! We WON the biggest war and threat to the existence of our country we EVER FACED, and we DIDN'T TORTURE PEOPLE. If we resorted to hitler's and hirohito's tactics, what would be the point in winning? We'd be ADMITTING DEFEAT. WWII was won, by people a lot more brave than you.

Actually YOU are the one who's clueless. Too bad you disagree with most of the other people who ALSO lost friends on that day. You don't get to dictate to the rest of this country what America stands for, ESPECIALLY when, by making excuses for torture, YOU OPENLY OPPOSE AMERICA AND EVERYTHING OUR FOREFATHERS FOUGHT AND DIED FOR.

If you believe in torture, then YOU should move to a 3rd world country where it's openly embraced. You'd LOVE Pakistan. If you want to live in America, then man up and be proud of what it stands for.

+11 # Paul Scott 2011-07-13 10:44

Neither our congress (R) or (D) nor the president (D) or (R) wants to pursue justice, at this level. The Rule of Law is strictly to keep the poor and working class from becoming a problem to the ruling class.

The right wing religious gangs, which are republican for the most part, scream out against abortion; but keep mum on the Scriptures condemning of torture. This breed gives Christianity a bad name [similar to the Islamic fanatics] for they drag the word of God down to their perverted position.

+4 # Capn Canard 2011-07-13 13:09

VERY WELL SAID, Paul Scott. I would add that all organized religions act to keep the True Believers fired up and nipping at the heels of labor, progressives, and civil rights activists or at the very least religion is meant to keep the population in line with government lest they get too much attention from the power brokers of WEALTH.

+9 # CragJensen 2011-07-13 12:34

I don't recall the Bible ever mentioning torture Paul but it certainly does endorse the use of unprovoked war to relieve others of their land, their properties and their lives. The Bible also endorses/advocates slavery, cruel and unusual punishment, totalitarianism and religious and/or racial bigotry.
Thanks God we are no longer under some form of theocratic rule! However - by the looks of things - the Republican Party is also considering bringing that (theocracy) back just as they managed to bring torture back. Ah me... what a world, what a world...

+1 # Paul Scott 2011-07-13 14:31

If you don't recall the bible mentioning torture. Try reading Romans 12: 17-21

+10 # humanmancalvin 2011-07-13 14:20

The torture authorized by Bush & gang should be investigated & sentences handed down if found guilty. I'm old enough to remember when Americans were the good guys.

+6 # billy bob 2011-07-13 18:19

Being the good guys was always better for our national security than acting like our own enemies.

+4 # billy bob 2011-07-13 17:23

It cracks me up, in a very dark way, that at the same time many liberals have completely given up all hope that the Democratic Party will actually stand up for anything, people are still so optimistic that something will come of torture-gate (5 years after it became widely known), and murdoch's recent crimes (decades after his crime spree began).

I don't want to make any predictions about what will happen to all the sudden hoopla that the psychos will finally be held accountable. I'm hoping that what I'm sure will come of all of this, is wrong.

+4 # minkdumink 2011-07-13 19:54

if nothing is done,you will be the next ones tortured by the republicans down the road.

+5 # CragJensen 2011-07-13 19:57

Very good Paul- i had not thought of that particular verse in reference to this issue but I find that it does apply.

Romans 12:17-21
New International Version (NIV)
17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[a] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Unfortunately - this is not the view of most evangelical Christians in the USA today.

They would, instead, go with the in-compassionate and unmerciful philosophies/ideologies of the Old Testament God.
This fact has been born out, without even a hint of doubt, since Bush seized power in 2001.

And this why Christian Reconstructioni sts/Dominionist such as Palin & Bachmann have had such great success in recent times.

+7 # lin96 2011-07-13 21:38

Obviously, all the former Presidents, with the exception of President Carter, whom they all shun, have formed a "good ole boys" secret society. They cover up for each other. I remember when President Kennedy said, America does not support secret societies. Well, it does now. They're all under the control of the wealthiest people in the world and they do what their told. Mitch McConnell's switch to pass the increase in the ceiling deficit, it's clear evidence that he was told, by probably his dictators, to get out there and make that announcement. He looked scared to death as he spoke. The fact that the Obama Administation will do nothing about the crimes of the Bush Administration only means that they are also controlled by the same people who controlled the Bush Administration. Our country is not the America that the citizens of our country and the rest of the world once knew.

+1 # granny 2011-07-14 07:38

One can only hope that honor and goos sense will overtake our President, and that he will, finally, become the leader we elected him to be.

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