Richard WarnickACLU Obtains CIA Torture Memos
We don’t actually need any more evidence of Bush administration crimes, but today the American Civil Liberties Union released more anyway. Previously top secret memos obtained by the ACLU reveal more of the bizarre, perverse and disingenuous legal theories that Justice Department lawyers tried to use to justify torture of detainees. From Raw Story:
As long as CIA agents could convince themselves they were not deliberately inflicting severe pain or suffering on detainees, they were free to do virtually anything in their questioning of suspected terrorists, including waterboarding. Furthermore, the agents’ belief they weren’t in fact torturing their captives didn’t even need to be “reasonable.”
These are the implications of a controversial August 2002 memo (PDF) from the Justice Department to the CIA that was released Thursday. The American Civil Liberties Union obtained several internal Bush administration documents it says authorizes the CIA to torture detainees.
Our closest ally, the British government, issued a report the other day that basically says President Bush has zero credibility when he makes the claim that “we do not torture,” as he has on numerous occasions. Nobody believes it.
Previous One Utah posts:
Waterboarding is Torture, Period (October 31, 2007)
CIA Director: We Used Waterboarding, But Not A Lot (February 5, 2008)
