Think Progress

ABC Report: Bush’s ‘Principal’ Advisers OK’d Torture

ABC News reported tonight that President Bush’s most senior and trusted advisers met in “dozens of top-secret talks and meetings in the White House” beginning in 2002 to approve the use of “combined” interrogation techniques (the joint use of harsh interrogation techniques). Those tactics included whether detainees “would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding.”

Members of the National Security Council’s Principals Committee — Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft — approved the use of these techniques. “Sources said that at each discussion, all the Principals present approved.” According to ABC’s report, Ashcroft indicated he was troubled by the meetings:

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.”

Watch ABC’s report:

Bush’s former Secretary of Homeland Security — Tom Ridge — has said there is “no doubt” that waterboarding is torture.

Update Marc Ambinder writes, "[I]t remains one of those hidden secrets in Washington that a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there's a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes."


66 Responses to “ABC Report: Bush’s ‘Principal’ Advisers OK’d Torture”

  1. Merlin says:

    Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld Colin Powell, George Tenet and John Ashcroft — approved the use of these techniques.

    Another glimpse of the true neocon that Powell really is shows up. Is it any wonder why he sold the Iraq invasion at the UN? It was no “mistake.” He was totally on board the neocon shipn from the beginning.

    From the time he left the administration he has been trying to reinvent his reputation. First, years of silence, then expressing “sorrow” or regret or remorse. Powell was one of the original Vulcans and, in my view, has never changed that position. He is just as bad as all the rest.


  2. questioneverything says:

    And as long as their lawyers (Yoo, etc.) said it was legal, it was just fine with all of them. What cowards. What depraved losers. May they actually be prosecuted and jailed. I couldn’t care less about public opinion as long as the laws of this country are finally upheld. Every heard of a treaty? One that was passed by Congress and signed by a former president? That is the highest law of the land (along with the Constitution itself). See Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Criminals all.


  3. tombaker says:

    good – we know exactly who to round up for trial once someone turns the “accountability and justice” machine back on.


  4. pluege says:

    only sadists could meet and discuss torture in such a manner.
    .


  5. Merlin says:

    From the provided link:

    But the CIA had captured a new al Qaeda suspect in Asia. Sources said CIA officials that summer returned to the Principals Committee for approval to continue using certain “enhanced interrogation techniques.”

    Then-National Security Advisor Rice, sources said, was decisive. Despite growing policy concerns — shared by Powell — that the program was harming the image of the United States abroad, sources say she did not back down, telling the CIA: “This is your baby. Go do it.”

    And here you have the heart warming view of the woman (my apologies to women) who has been floating her name as McBush’s VP pick. Hey, folks! She’s decisive!

    So what is the wonderful Colin’s concern? Morals? Ethics? Legality? No, it is the “image of the United States abroad!” Its not what we do, says Colin. It is only how we look to the rest of the world! “Sweet man!” (My apologies to men.)


  6. Above the Clouds says:

    Add “torture” to the list of “conservative” values that includes war-death-debt-and corruption.


  7. Fan of Man says:

    ALL OF THE SHOULD BE TRIED AS WAR CRIMINALS!

    This is way beyond just “breaking the law”…. this is crimes against humanity… They should be tried.


  8. StupidGit says:

    Our administration’s theme song:

    Yes, I drive a pickup truck
    And I’m full of American pride
    I keep a Bible on my table
    I got a flag out on my lawn
    And I love them Rambo movies
    I think they make a lot of sense
    And it’s a shame ole John Wayne
    Didn’t live to run for president

    What this world needs is a few more rednecks
    Some people ain’t afraid to take a stand
    A little less talk and a little more action
    And a few more rednecks is what we need

    “A Few More Rednecks” by Charlie Daniels


  9. katy says:

    UPDATE: “… a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there’s a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes.”

    they damn well better be…


  10. Merlin says:

    pluege Says:
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:00 pm
    only sadists could meet and discuss torture in such a manner.

    Yes! One is reminded of the Nazi criminals during WWII? They gathered together and decided on the solution to the “Jewish Problem.” And they were “decisive” as well, as their subsequent actions at Buchanwald and Dachau proved.

    Damn, I’m angry about this torture issue!

    Of all the injustices that BushCo has perpetrated, torture is the worst, as it tears the humanity from an individual. And to boot, does it from the situation room in the WH. That any group of individuals would sit down calmly and offhandedly (telling the CIA: “This is your baby. Go do it.”) and determine the fate, not to mention the pain and suffering of other people, is monsterous.


  11. cerberus says:

    Investigate & Incarcerate or let The Hague Trials begin the minute they all step out of public office.


  12. cerberus says:

    This torture cadre will be likened to Hitler’s regime – there’s little doubt about it.


  13. jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s says:

    Makes for an interesting Republican ticket.

    McCain the tortured and Condi the torturer!


  14. Merlin says:

    Marc Ambinder writes, “[I]t remains one of those hidden secrets in Washington that a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there’s a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes.”

    The question is: What would Hillary do? In 1992 Bill Clinton let the whole Iran/Contra affair be swept under the rug, while not continuing the already happening investigations into the criminal affair. His decision was to let it all die and to “put it behind us.” And those same people that were “guilty” then (like Elliot Abrams), are still in the corridors of power today. Did she agree and/or approve of his actions? I have heard nothing from her about this, or her thoughts about bringing BushCo to trial.


  15. Above the Clouds says:

    Whatever happened to the good old days when the big White House scandal was lies about stains on a blue dress?


  16. Merlin says:

    jay_severin_has_a_small_pen1s Says:
    April 9th, 2008 at 10:38 pm
    Makes for an interesting Republican ticket.

    McCain the tortured and Condi the torturer!

    The way these neocons give the “finger wave” to the American public, I can see the campaign theme:

    VOTE THE TORTURE TEAM!
    McCain/Rice


  17. Roket says:

    Personally, I would like to see them sweat. Just a couple of beads on the forehead would suffice.


  18. Freedom Rebel says:

    “One of America’s greatest strengths is the soft power of our value system and how we treat prisoners of war, and we don’t torture,” Absolutely right we don’t. The fact that they gave the okay and got John Yoo to make it look legal; Merlin is right, they are no better than the Nazi’s.

    The Democratic Justice Department should issue a statement immediately saying that they are going to launch an investigation into these allegations.

    Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeld, Colin Powell, George Tenet, and John Ashcroft should go down in history as war criminals. That is the least we can do for the over 4,013 soldiers that have died in Iraq.


  19. Max-1 says:

    If the “ENHANCED INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES” were “LEGAL” then why the need for immunity for the interrogators?

    If the speed limit is 55mph, do I need immunity to go 54mph?

    Notice in the piece the reporter keeps educating the public that these techniques were claimed to be LEGAL by the Justice Department based on a memo written later to be rebutted by the White House. All while she did mention Tenent wanted that immunity for his agents.

    DOUBLESPEAK PLUS GOOD!


  20. sacopenapa says:

    WAR CRIMINALS! HAGUE 2009!


  21. Keith H. says:

    Marc Ambinder writes, “[I]t remains one of those hidden secrets in Washington that a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there’s a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes.”

    Were guilty ?!?
    How about are guilty ?
    As in . . . right now.


  22. Evil Spaniard says:

    “ABC Report: Bush’s ‘Principal’ Advisers OK’d Torture”

    But “Advisers” haven’t real power without the President, isn’t?


  23. nycbassist says:

    I would really love to know just what valuable information Zubaydah gave up, under torture that lead to Sheik Mohammed. A friend of his second cousins wife went to high school with him?

    Merlin, I thoroughly agree with you about Powell. After watching the Frontline special two weeks ago, I started feeling some sympathy towards him. That he was a soul torn between loyalty and personal integrity, and slowly surrendered the latter. Now, I see, this is not true. Any person who condones such horrible values, has no soul.

    Sacopenapa.. why wait??

    Also the report says the interrogation techniques were to be used on “specific high value prisoner, not that that makes it okay. But, when you learn how it was used at Abu Ghraib, and Guantanamo, and that innocent people were tortured and some died.. my guess is that after they got their first taste of it, they really, really enjoyed it.


  24. Zivnuska says:

    This is way beyond just “breaking the law”…. this is crimes against humanity… They should be tried.


  25. Helen Hussein Rainier says:

    What do you call it when your disgust and revulsion for our “leaders” morphs into hatred for who they are, what they stand for, and what they are doing “in our name”?


  26. A Patriot Acting says:

    “I call on all governments to join with the United States and the community of law-abiding nations in prohibiting, investigating, and prosecuting all acts of torture … and we are leading this fight by example.”
    -George We-don’t-torture Bush
    Quoted in “The Dark Art of Interrogation,” The Atlantic Monthly, October 2003

    See, even Georgie is on board with prosecuting himself!


  27. barfly says:

    It’s still early, so the trolls aren’t out yet, but you can bet they’ll be here, to make the point that actionable information was obtained from waterboarding Zubaydah. While this doesn’t fall under the ticking time-bomb scenario, it was information useful in the capture of another terrorist. Does this then mean we should torture routinely to get what we consider to be valuable information? Without knowing the specifics, no. This could still be self-serving propaganda from the administration in the form of a limited hangout to the media, to make the case that although torture was ok’d by the “principals,” in this specific case it was justified because it worked to get the information they needed. But that doesn’t prove the folks we’ve tortured at Gitmo and other places gave us the same value of intel for our troubles.


  28. zuch says:

    Why did this take so long to come out? Why did the maladministration hide, obfuscate, foot-drag, and blame “a few bad apples”?

    They knew what they were doing was wrong….

    Cheers,


  29. barfly says:

    Feel free to call out TP next time they cite him here as a thoughtful dove then.

    But wait, I thought liberals were all in lockstep! Do you mean to say we actually have individual thoughts, and don’t march in unison?


  30. barfly says:

    Feel free to call out TP next time they cite him here as a thoughtful dove then.

    If you’ll check, I’ve ragged on Powell every time a thread about him is posted. Gee. We don’t all agree on Powell. I wonder what else liberals don’t agree upon? Righties are always telling us how much we think alike; I guess they were wrong about that too.


  31. freedom lover says:

    “Who’s talking to you ?”

    who’s listening to you? Your lies are modelled on Powell’s. Your defense of the administration places you in the same position of immorality and ethical bankruptcy as Powell. TP, for all its alleged mistakes, is head and shoulders above you rightwing mass-murdering fearmongers.


  32. Vet says:

    “[I]t remains one of those hidden secrets in Washington that a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there’s a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes.”
    ————————
    God I hope the next president has the cajones to push this and hold these people accountable. Not just for the war crimes, but also for ignoring the 4th Amendment, etc.

    If they don’t, and the people don’t rise up, then this country deserves what it gets.


  33. JohnR says:

    …and Colin Powell is still a man that is held up by the news media for admiration. He’s one of the principle reasons that this war got of the ground.
    http://comedianforpresident.com


  34. Marie says:

    #27, I am with you.


  35. Marie says:

    In light of all this evidence, this administration must be indicted and tried. There can’t be any other resolution for our own democracy and for our standing in the world.
    This administration has committed war crimes in our name and if they are not made to face justice, we are all responsible.



  36. GeeDubs says:

    Colin lost his career and respect with his presentation to the UN about WMD in Iraq. So…sitting around a table and discussing what you can do to make people squirm. In MINUTE detail. With the full power of the administration behind you. These jokers need to be placed in a Third World jail and experience what those countries leaders thought would make ‘em talk.


  37. zona says:

    don’t you all think W will give them all pardons before he leaves ofice?


  38. Bubba Brazille says:

    Ah, ABC, thanks for the report. Now we know it’s not torture, it’s “enhanced interrogation.”

    Further we know the techniques are effective and legal. What’s everybody so upset about?

    Must have been a mistake when we prosecuted Japanese soldiers for waterboarding American prisoners. Why, it was legal and effective.

    Good thing we’re more like the axis powers now than the Allies of WWII. Someone might accuse us of being, oh, morally superior. And how would that help us fight terrorism.

    You’re just a bunch of ninnies!


  39. Bubba Brazille says:

    Zona, I believe they will all be preemptively pardoned. Just like his Daddy pardoned all those other sadists involved in Iran Contra. I think one guy BUSH One pardoned was the first person in US history to accept a preemptive pardon. Was it on Christmas Eve or something?


  40. George Hunsinger says:

    TORTURE IS A MORAL ISSUE
    Join us. Take action. Mobilize others in your community.

    National Campaign Against Torture
    http://www.nrcat.org

    –George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary
    Founder of NRCAT


  41. George Hunsinger says:

    Make that:

    National Religious Campaign Against Torture


  42. George Hunsinger says:

    Not sure what Kilo’s point is.

    I slipped up. I posted without the full name of the organization I founded (NRCAT). But when I noticed my mistake, there was no mechanism to edit the original.

    Maybe Kilo never slips up.


  43. batteries says:

    Yes! One is reminded of the Nazi criminals during WWII? They gathered together and decided on the solution to the “Jewish Problem.” And they were “decisive” as well, as their subsequent actions at Buchanwald and Dachau proved.

    Damn, I’m angry about this torture issue!

    Of all the injustices that BushCo has perpetrated, torture is the worst, as it tears the humanity from an individual. And to boot, does it from the situation room in the WH. That any group of individuals would sit down calmly toshiba pa3383u battery,toshiba pa3383 battery and offhandedly (telling the CIA: “This is your baby. Go do it.”) and determine the fate, not to mention the pain and suffering of other people, is monsterous.


  44. doktorgizemli says:

    This is another example that the “old world jounalism of Murrow, Cronkite and Rather is dead and buried. In the case of the Time Magazine reporter Ms Tumulty, she seems to think the finding out the who, what, where, when and how have been replaced with a steno pad, which she records what ABC said in rebuttle to the complaint of Congressman Kucinich. There is a great disconnect with what happened and the points made by ABC. She asks little of no questions to ABC. She takes what is handed to her and repeats it vebatim and then calls that reporting. I call is stenography. Lida Sohbet sohbet sesli chat Gelinlik Modelleri


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  46. doktorgizemli says:

    If you’re referring to Karl Schwarz’ articles, if they are true, how will we ever know unless the news media gets involved without bias? The military under orders not to speak out may never convey Karl Scharz’ expose’. Sesli Sohbet If Cheney was truly involved in 9/11 and protected in some way, then he’s being protected by what may be going on in the Caspian Sea area as well. That pre-9/11 August 10, 2000 article drives the point home to me that Cheney had a vested interest in the oil at the Caspian Sea area (before 9/11). Fx15 From all I’ve read in Schwarz’ articles, he claims the Taliban was working on a deal with Argentina with that pipeline in the Caspian Sea area and UNOCOL wanted the deal instead. Orjinal Lida It’s too much to get into here and I’m not able to convey in here what Schwarz has presented in his articles. Sikis Dig into Schwarz’ articles to learn more about the unnamed soldier’s experiences related to so-called Black Ops missions in the Caspian Sea area in Schwarz’ article. What Schwarz had to present in this article is an eye opener: kurtlar vadisi pusu izle




  47. fast_vagrant says:

    UPDATE: “… a Democratic Justice Department is going to be very interested in figuring out whether there’s a case to be made that senior Bush Administration officials were guilty of war crimes.”

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  49. Oyun says:

    “Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly


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  51. yukseksound says:

    And as long as their lawyers (Yoo, etc.) said it was legal, it was just fine with all of them. What cowards. What depraved losers. May they actually be prosecuted and jailed. I couldn’t care less about public opinion as long as the laws of this country are finally upheld. Every heard of a treaty? One that was passed by Congress and signed by a former president? That is the highest law of the land (along with the Constitution itself). See Article VI of the U.S. Constitution. Criminals all.

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  53. manyak says:




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