‘History will not judge this kindly’
From ABC News:
In dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House, the most senior Bush administration officials discussed and approved the torture of prisoners held by the Central Intelligence Agency. The advisers were members of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee, which in 2002-2003 included Vice President Cheney, former National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Secretary of State Colin Powell, as well as CIA Director George Tenet and Attorney General John Ashcroft.
According to a top official, Ashcroft asked aloud after one meeting: “Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly.”
UPDATE: From DailyKos, with video: “Top White House officials sat around talking in explicit detail about how America was going to torture people.”
UPDATE: It was revealed in court some time ago that President Bush signed an order (probably a National Security Decision Directive) authorizing CIA torture, however I believe it remains classified. Today we found out that there is an unclassified National Security Action Memo (PDF), dated February 7, 2002, that approves the torture program. With Bush’s signature on it. Incredibly, this has been sitting quietly on a website, at George Washington University. Bush’s memo pre-dates the infamous John Yoo torture memo, but it references other legal opinions from the Department of Justice.
UPDATE: The AP has confirmed that the National Security Council’s Principals Committee approved torture of detainees before the Justice Department could produce the so-called “Golden Shield,” in the form of the infamous August, 2002 memo by John Yoo claiming that the President could ignore laws against torture.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:39 am
for fun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQBWGo7pef8
April 10th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
This (from the ABC News article) is freaky:
Near the bottom of the article, it says
Some have used this “confirmation” to claim that only 3 people have ever been waterboarded. I highly doubt that.
April 10th, 2008 at 2:21 pm
Frank, any guesses on Who this handfull of ‘top advisors’ was advising? Might that monster have ‘W’ as a middle initial?
April 10th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Ashcroft must have been “shocked, shocked I say!”
April 14th, 2008 at 11:36 am
[...] agree that the media are irrelevant. It looks like the media set the agenda. Shall we talk about detailed high-level White House meetings to approve torturing CIA detainees? The media have decided we won’t. No, the subject is going to be whether Americans are [...]