ABC Report: Bush’s ‘Principal’ Advisers OK’d Torture
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.
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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.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:39 pmAnd 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.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:51 pmgood - we know exactly who to round up for trial once someone turns the “accountability and justice” machine back on.
April 9th, 2008 at 9:54 pmonly sadists could meet and discuss torture in such a manner.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:00 pm.
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.)
April 9th, 2008 at 10:09 pmAdd “torture” to the list of “conservative” values that includes war-death-debt-and corruption.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:11 pmALL 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.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:13 pmOur administration’s theme song:
“A Few More Rednecks” by Charlie Daniels
April 9th, 2008 at 10:18 pmUPDATE: “… 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…
April 9th, 2008 at 10:23 pmpluege 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.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:26 pmInvestigate & Incarcerate or let The Hague Trials begin the minute they all step out of public office.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:35 pmThis torture cadre will be likened to Hitler’s regime - there’s little doubt about it.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:36 pmMakes for an interesting Republican ticket.
McCain the tortured and Condi the torturer!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:38 pmMarc 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.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:38 pmWhatever happened to the good old days when the big White House scandal was lies about stains on a blue dress?
April 9th, 2008 at 10:39 pmjay_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!
April 9th, 2008 at 10:42 pmMcCain/Rice
Personally, I would like to see them sweat. Just a couple of beads on the forehead would suffice.
April 9th, 2008 at 10:46 pm“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.
April 10th, 2008 at 5:41 amIf 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!
April 10th, 2008 at 5:45 amApril 10th, 2008 at 6:00 am
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 ?!?
April 10th, 2008 at 6:27 amHow about are guilty ?
As in . . . right now.
“ABC Report: Bush’s ‘Principal’ Advisers OK’d Torture”
But “Advisers” haven’t real power without the President, isn’t?
April 10th, 2008 at 6:58 amI 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.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:13 amThis is way beyond just “breaking the law”…. this is crimes against humanity… They should be tried.
April 10th, 2008 at 7:23 amWhat 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”?
April 10th, 2008 at 7:40 am“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!
April 10th, 2008 at 8:27 amIt’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.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:31 amThen years of being cited as a credible source on a particular blog.
Feel free to call out TP next time they cite him here as a thoughtful dove then.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:43 amWhy 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,
April 10th, 2008 at 8:49 amFeel 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?
April 10th, 2008 at 8:49 amFeel 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.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:54 amBut that was in 2008.
2002 was when he held up cartoons of mobile bio labs he knew existed nowhere outside the imagination of a fabricator and portrayed them to the world as a grave threat.
2002 was when this man — known pretty much for nothing other than his long career in defending the US — claiming that someone in the middle east with a *desire* to someday build a UAV poses a threat to the US.
April 10th, 2008 at 8:55 amYou may go the rest of your life without seeing a lie that obvious again.
Who’s talking to you ?
April 10th, 2008 at 8:58 am“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.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:21 am“[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.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:23 am…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.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:35 amhttp://comedianforpresident.com
#27, I am with you.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:37 amMy lies being…..?
My defense of this administration being….. ?
Fill in the blanks chump. Take as much time as you like and be specific.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:38 amIn 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.
April 10th, 2008 at 9:42 amThis administration has committed war crimes in our name and if they are not made to face justice, we are all responsible.
Say Kaddish for Colin Powell’s career and respect.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:11 amColin 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.
April 10th, 2008 at 10:47 amdon’t you all think W will give them all pardons before he leaves ofice?
April 10th, 2008 at 12:41 pmfreedom lover ?
April 10th, 2008 at 7:16 pmAh, 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!
April 10th, 2008 at 11:09 pmZona, 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?
April 10th, 2008 at 11:12 pmTORTURE IS A MORAL ISSUE
Join us. Take action. Mobilize others in your community.
–George Hunsinger, Princeton Theological Seminary
April 11th, 2008 at 1:18 pmFounder of NRCAT
April 11th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
That’s dumb. This isn’t…
April 11th, 2008 at 9:21 pm“National Campaign Against Torture”
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.
April 12th, 2008 at 12:12 pmMy point is the “R” in that name switches support here from 100% to 0%. You tell me how bright that is.
April 27th, 2008 at 9:24 pm