Convention Against Torture

Beating the Drum on Proscuting Bush

by GDAEman,
September 3, 2009 - 7:13pm

It's encouraging to see Antemedius beating the drum on seeking the investigation and criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials. I feel strongly about this because failure to prosecute the crimes of high officials creates a sense of impunity that unravels the fabric of civil society.

For that reason, I beat the drum on the prosecution of Bush administration officials in every episode of my GDAE Podcast. As I've done so, I've noticed a growing level of activity on the subject. This is a hopeful sign, because there truly is power in numbers.

Below is a rough transcript of the drum beat in Episode 17 of GDAE Podcast:

John Yoo, Donald Rumsfeld and the Systematic Torture of Prisoners

by Jason Leopold,
July 1, 2009 - 1:44pm

On January 17, 2003, Mary Walker, the Air Force general counsel, received an urgent memo from the Pentagon's top attorney. Attached to the classified document was a set of directives drafted two days earlier by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

"Establish a working group within the Department of Defense to assess the legal, policy and operational issues relating to the interrogations of detainees held by the US Armed Forces in the war on terrorism," the directives said.

Among the issues to be addressed were "policy considerations with respect to the choice of interrogation techniques, including contribution to intelligence collection, effect on treatment of captured US military personnel, effect on detainee prosecutions, historical role of US armed forces in conducting interrogations, recommendations for employment of particular interrogation techniques by [Defense Department] interrogators."

Obama Vows to Deal With Torture, But His Pledge Doesn't Apply to the Bush Administration

by Jason Leopold,
July 1, 2009 - 9:07am

President Barack Obama just announced that the U.S. government "must stand against torture wherever it takes place," but it’s clear that his pledge does not apply to torture committed by officials from the Bush administration.

To mark the 25th anniversary of the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Obama quietly released a statement on Friday in which he said, “My administration is committed to taking concrete actions against torture and to address the needs of its victims.”

Obama's statement left out his decision to “look forward, not backward” on the issue of Bush-era torture or how he has discouraged any investigation of former President George W. Bush, ex-Vice President Dick Cheney and other officials involved in sanctioning and practicing torture, brutal tactics that human groups claim killed at least 100 prisoners in U.S. custody