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Torture Endorsed, Torture Denied
Marjorie Cohn of Thomas Jefferson School of Law says that the
Bush administration's repeated insistence that it has not
endorsed the torture of prisoners rings hollow in light of
newly-disclosed US Department of Justice memos supporting the
harshest techniques the CIA has ever used...
By Marjorie Cohn
10/09/07 "Jurist" - -- -- The April 2004 publication of
grotesque photographs of naked Iraqis piled on top of each
other, forced to masturbate, and led around on leashes like
dogs, sent shock waves around the world. George W. Bush
declared, “I shared a deep disgust that those prisoners were
treated the way they were treated.” Yet less than a year later,
his Justice Department issued a secret opinion endorsing the
harshest techniques the CIA has ever used, according to a report
in the New York Times. These include head slapping, frigid
temperatures, and water boarding, in which the subject is made
to feel he is drowning. Water boarding is widely considered a
torture technique. Once again, Bush is compelled to issue a
denial. “This government does not torture people,” he insisted.
This was not the first time the Bush administration had
officially endorsed torture, however. John Yoo, writing for the
Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, penned an August
2002 memorandum that rewrote the legal definition of torture to
require the equivalent of organ failure. This memo violated the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, a treaty the United States ratified,
and therefore part of U.S. law under the Supremacy Clause of the
Constitution.
In December 2002, former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
approved interrogation methods that included the use of dogs,
hooding, stress positions, isolation for up to 30 days, 20-hour
interrogations, deprivation of light and sound, and water
boarding. U.S. Navy General Counsel Alberto Mora told William
Haynes, the Pentagon’s general counsel, that Rumsfeld’s
“authorized interrogation techniques could rise to the level of
torture.” As a result, Rumsfeld rescinded some methods but
reserved the right to approve others, including water boarding,
on a case-by-case basis.
When Bush maintained last week that his government doesn’t
torture prisoners, he stressed the necessity of interrogation to
“protect the American people.” Notwithstanding the myth
perpetuated by shows like “24,” however, torture doesn’t work.
Experts agree that people who are tortured will say anything to
make the torture stop.
One of the first victims of the Bush administration’s 2002
torture policy was Abu Zubaydah, whom they called “chief of
operations” for al Qaeda and bin Laden’s “number three man.” He
was repeatedly tortured at the secret CIA “black sites.” They
water boarded him, withheld his medication, threatened him with
impending death, and bombarded him with continuous deafening
noise and harsh lights.
But Zubaydah wasn’t a top al Qaeda leader. Dan Coleman, one of
the FBI’s leading experts on al Qaeda, said of Zubaydah, “He
knew very little about real operations, or strategy … He was
expendable, you know, the greeter . . . Joe Louis in the lobby
of Caeser’s Palace, shaking hands.” Moreover, Zubaydah was
schizophrenic; according to Coleman, “This guy is insane,
certifiable split personality.” Coleman’s views were echoed at
the top levels of the CIA and were communicated to Bush and
Cheney. But Bush scolded CIA director George Tenet, saying, “I
said [Zubaydah] was important. You’re not going to let me lose
face on this, are you?” Zubaydah’s minor role in al Qaeda and
his apparent insanity were kept secret.
In response to the torture, Zubaydah told his interrogators
about myriad terrorist targets al Qaeda had in its sights: the
Brooklyn Bridge, the Statute of Liberty, shopping malls, banks,
supermarkets, water systems, nuclear plants, and apartment
buildings. Al Qaeda was close to building a crude nuclear bomb,
Zubaydah reported. None of this was corroborated but the Bush
gang reacted to each report zealously.
Moreover, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, considered the mastermind of
the September 11 attacks, was tortured so severely - including
by water boarding - that the information he provided is
virtually worthless. A potentially rich source of intelligence
was lost as a result of the torture.
Bush’s insistence that his administration doesn’t torture rings
hollow. He lied about weapons of mass destruction and a
Saddam-al Qaeda connection in Iraq. He lied when he assured us
his officials would not wiretap without warrants. As evidence of
secret memos detailing harsh interrogation policies continues to
emerge, we can’t believe Bush’s denials about torture.
Democrats in Congress have demanded they be allowed to see the
memos, but Bush said the interrogation methods have been “fully
disclosed to appropriate members of Congress.” Senator John D.
Rockefeller IV was unmoved. “I’m tired of these games,” he said.
“They can’t say that Congress has been fully briefed while
refusing to turn over key documents used to justify the legality
of the program.”
It is incumbent upon the Senate Judiciary Committee to
vigorously interrogate Michael Mukasey during his attorney
general confirmation hearing. As AG, Mukasey would oversee the
department that writes interrogation policy. Mukasey should know
that the Convention Against Torture prohibits torture in all
circumstances, even in times of war.
Torture is a war crime. Those who commit or order torture can be
convicted under the U.S. War Crimes Statute. Techniques that
don’t rise to the level of torture but constitute cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment also violate U.S. law.
Congress should provide for the appointment of a special
independent counsel to fully investigate and prosecute all who
are complicit in the torture of prisoners in U.S. custody.
Marjorie Cohn is a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law
and president of the National Lawyers Guild. She is the author
of Cowboy Republic: Six Ways the Bush Gang Has Defied the Law.
Her articles are archived at
http://www.marjoriecohn.com/
© 2007 Marjorie Cohn
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