Gen. Ricardo Sanchez calls for war crimes truth commission.
Gen. Ricardo Sanchez calls for war crimes truth commission.
Sitting on a panel moderated by Rachel Maddow last night, retired Army Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the top U.S. commander in Iraq from 2003-2004, called for a truth commission to investigate Bush-era interrogation and torture tactics. The Huffington Post’s Jack Hidary reports:
The General described the failures at all levels of civilian and military command that led to the abuses in Iraq, “and that is why I support the formation of a truth commission.”
The General went on to say that, “during my time in Iraq there was not one instance of actionable intelligence that came out of these interrogation techniques.”
I interviewed General Sanchez after the event and asked him to elaborate on why he felt the US needed such a commission. … “If we do not find out what happened,” continued the General, “then we are doomed to repeat it.”
Sanchez described the interrogation program as “a personal failure on the part of many.” Indeed, Sanchez himself wrote and signed a 2003 memo that included specific interrogation tactics approved for use despite noting that they may violate the Geneva Conventions. In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sanchez denied signing off on these interrogation methods.
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Come on, you silly right wingers, tell us why this is wrong.
Or do you have to wait on the radio to give you your talking points?
June 1st, 2009 at 9:55 amwar crimes truth commission? WTF?
the Hell with commissions.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:00 amOn to war crimes trials. Starting with Bush/Cheney, Rumfeld, Gonzo, Bybee, Yoo, Wolfowitz, Feith, Perle, Abrams, et al.
Personal failure on the part of many? Does that include Peter Pace? How about the Carlyle Group’s Booz, Allen, Hamilton?
General Pace is example of how Eisenhower’s Military Industrial Complex morphed into the Government-Industrial Monstrosity. Trillions in federal funds acted as steroids, producing the GIM.
http://stateofthedivision.blogspot.com/2009/05/general-peter-pace-state-of-government.html
Just when Peter Pace’s obscene bonus stood at the precipice of public revelation, a private equity underwriter rode in and took the company private.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:01 amNice off-topic strawman to divert attention from the continuing revelation of more and more of, dare we say it, war crimes?
June 1st, 2009 at 10:07 amWar crimes truth commission is a start.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:08 amA war crimes trial, regardless that it would be just and deserved, considering who would be involved, would probably not render a just verdict. The right wing media circus would see to that.
A commission – PROVIDED IT IS NOT A WHITEWASH – is a good starting point, and persons like Sanchez calling for one can only help.
Just viewed Frost/Nixon last night — people forget that crimes were committed, and the pardoning of the president merely covered it up, where it continued to fester and rise up as it did under Bush&Co.
not just a strawman, state is always here spamming for his blog
June 1st, 2009 at 10:13 amObviously the General hates our troops and wants to see America harmed, right GOPers?
It’s just too bad that A.G. Holder doesn’t have the professional integrity to uphold the rule of law in America. That detail must not have been included in the job description.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:16 am“there was not one instance of actionable intelligence that came out of these interrogation techniques.”
What more can be said for the crimes perpetuated by the Bush junta?
June 1st, 2009 at 10:18 amNotice how MSM isn’t even reporting this? All I heard was about the Doctor being executed in his church and how Susan Boyle came in second. Jesus. No wonder I’m addicted to C-span.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:21 amGen. Sanchez is exactly right. Unless we do this we will be doomed to repeat it. In many ways this goes all of the way back to Watergate where we were too soft on the crooks. That came back to haunt us with Iran-Contra, where we were again too soft, and finally torture. While we can’t go back and redo either Watergate or Iran-Contra we absolutely need to go back and finally hold those responsibe for these crimes accountable. So what if political heads roll. That is the whole idea.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:22 amUncle Ho @2, you are right. No “truth commission!” We had the 9/11 “truth commission,” and what did that get us but a cover-up that serves as a pillar of conventional wisdom. The Warren Commission? How many people think that that actually answered any substantive questions about JFK’s assassination? Anyway, what consequences would there be for ignoring or lying to the commission? We need real investigations run by independent counsels with subpoena power and Presidential and DoJ backing.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:23 amMy guess is the ring wing media and pundits would rather have a truth commission for the Mancow waterboarding stunt instead.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:24 amRight wing, ack. Severe case of the Mondays.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:25 amIt’s a pipe-dream.
Not gonna happen.
The VERY BEST you could possibly hope for would be some toothless, Lee-Hamilton-led commission, like the 9-11 Commission, which concealed more than it revealed, and there weren’t even any obvious USer officials named as perps.
No way…not now, not ever…
June 1st, 2009 at 10:26 amamish_edison Says:
It’s just too bad that A.G. Holder doesn’t have the professional integrity to uphold the rule of law in America. That detail must not have been included in the job description.
It was edited out of the job description by the last administration. I hope to see our new admin to have the balls to add it back in, but it doesn’t appear likely.
PEACE
June 1st, 2009 at 10:26 amIn politics, there is no integrity. Where did you get that insane idea? The rule of law is: He who makes the rules is the Law! Law functions best to preserve the rulers from the insolence of the ruled.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:29 amSanchez obviously displeased his masters when he was in Iraq, because when he was removed, they claimed that it was just part of a cycling of rotating commands; except, he was the only one to be cycled.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:38 amBush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld should be in prison awaiting execution for war crimes, treason, torture, violations of international law, and violations of the U. S. Constitution. Oh, and by the way, if we need anyone to “pull the switch” I volunteer.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:51 amThey can’t have a comprehensive investigation into their war crimes because it would lead all the way back to cheney’s bedtime story, 9-11.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:53 amThat won’t happen for about another forty years or so,
that’s the way they roll.
amish_edison Says:
It’s just too bad that A.G. Holder doesn’t have the professional integrity to uphold the rule of law in America. That detail must not have been included in the job description.
I’ve noticed we haven’t heard hardly anything from Holder since he was sworn in. But Obama’s been talking a lot about getting some of the relevant laws reviewed, like the State Secrets Act, and the jurisdiction clarified. I have a feeling that Holder is kind of swamped with paperwork about now. Organizing that huge pile of feces left behind by BushCo into a rational set of strong legal cases is about the most herculean legal team’s job that I can imagine.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:06 amLet’s see if the Republicans can take their own advice and actually listen to the military generals.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:06 ambenji85 Says:
Let’s see if the Republicans can take their own advice and actually listen to the military generals.
Only if they reserve the right to fire the ones who say the wrong things.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:20 amTo think that our government (Dem or Rep) would allow a former president or vice president be investigated for war crimes just isn’t going to happen.
I agree both Bush and Cheney along with a list of others are guilty of war crimes and should be in some dark prison cell but President Obama, AG Holder nor the democratic party have the stomach to push this.
For one thing, they sadly just want this all to go away, sweep it under the rug. Laws were broken, people were tortured in the name of the USA, if nothing is done about this than I say President Obama is just as guilty.
We need accountability from those who allowed and enabled these crimes. If not we are no better than Iraq, old East Germany, China, the Soviet Union….we must also not allow the defenders of torture to use fear and hypothetical 9/11 scenarios as a defense for torture. NO MORE FEAR! CONVICT THE WAR CRIMINALS FOR WAR CRIMES NOW!
June 1st, 2009 at 11:24 amFor one thing, they sadly just want this all to go away, sweep it under the rug. Laws were broken, people were tortured in the name of the USA, if nothing is done about this than I say President Obama is just as guilty.
Indeed he is. Unless Obama reverses course and pushes for prosecution of war criminals, I will not vote for him a second time. His so-called base will be staying home en masse in 2012 if he allows this travesty to continue.
June 1st, 2009 at 11:35 amWhy are the resident freaks avoiding this one entirely? Kryponite?
June 1st, 2009 at 12:46 pmdbadass
Why are the resident freaks avoiding this one entirely?
Because there’s an abortion-related story to argue about, duh.
And probably because they know they have no leg to stand on re: torture and have to wait for more talking points to come out for them to parrot. What do you think it will be this time? We’ve already been through:
“We didn’t torture.”
“Okay, we tortured, but it worked.”
“Okay, it didn’t work, but it could have, so we should be able to do it.”
Seems like the next step should be something to the effect of:
“Okay, it couldn’t have worked, because torture doesn’t work, but those no-good brown people asked for it…especially the children we raped…they were REALLY asking for it.”
But maybe I’m being too cynical about their cognative dissonance and moral abiguity……nah, probably not.
June 1st, 2009 at 1:50 pmAt least he got this part right:
Too bad he didn’t get the part right about protecting the Constitution against domestic enemies, such as the bush crime family who ordered him to take his troops and illegally invade and occupy a foreign nation that posed no credible threat to the United States in violation of U.S. law, the UCMJ, Internation Law, and Treaties the U.S. had signed with other nations.
The reason a truth commission would do any good is that if you investigate, you wind up with crimes that were committed by those at the highest levels of government and the military. Having evidence of the crimes, we would be compelled to try the criminals. The just punishment poured out on the perpetrators would serve as an example and warning to any would be dictators in the future who tried to get away with the same thing.
But we all know none of that is gonna happen.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:00 pmCue the cameras:
He’s just a pacifist…
June 1st, 2009 at 5:07 pmConstructionist generals…
Sanchez – member of La Raza, I’m sure…
Given that TP degenerated into the Rush/Steele/Cheney news site, it’s a stretch to post anything substantive on any topic.
My apologies for posting a piece about retired General Peter Pace, retired General Richard Sanchez’s boss.
As for private companies doing CIA interrogations, that would require an investigation, something the Obama team clearly doesn’t want.
The public won’t know anytime soon what the Carlyle Group’s Booz, Allen, Hamilton does in the intelligence arena for Uncle Sam or how many billions they make. State secrets…
June 1st, 2009 at 5:19 pmA “Truth Commission” will accomplish four things:
1. Allow the Congress to guide the inquiry so that no uncomfortable facts are revealed that might embarrass those still in power.
2. Delay action long enough that absolutely nothing is ever actually done.
3. Ensure that no one of any importance is ever held accountable for crimes that they committed.
4. Take and keep the initiative to insure that no effective steps can be taken by others to get to the truth and bring about accountability or justice.
Proof of this: The 911 Truth Commission
What is required is a SPECIAL PROSECUTOR WITH SUBPOENA POWERS and an unlimited budget.
A Truth Commission is a JOKE!
June 1st, 2009 at 6:07 pmThat’s it?
June 1st, 2009 at 7:21 pmNot much, is it, dbadass?
Still… it’s johnintexas. You couldn’t have been expecting much.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:23 pmThe general is a political hack says the cyber nobody…
June 1st, 2009 at 7:31 pmAh, I see our commodious friend has decided to go with “attacking the messenger”.
Way to support the troops.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:38 pmWe can only hope.
Still, your membership status is within your control. We don’t demand that you agree with us, just that you offer respectful, reasoned arguments grounded in reality. This task has so far seemed beyond your modest gifts.
June 1st, 2009 at 7:40 pmBe fair, johnintexas. Had you offered a reasonable comment, you probably wouldn’t have been insulted. What you posted was eminently insultable.
But you’re probably right; dbadass knew he would insult you, because he knew your comment would be asinine. Your pattern has been established by now and it isn’t exactly subtle, is it?
June 1st, 2009 at 7:43 pmOh, is THAT what you thought you were doing?
Debating?
Is that why you offered such rock-solid logic as “”He is to Mexicans what Colon Powell is to the Negro.“?
I don’t know you right-wingers have a reputation as racists. It’s a complete mystery…
June 1st, 2009 at 7:45 pmIt isn’t intended to be an insult. It is intended to pose the question of how the heck you might be qualified to make such an assessment. Seems the Bush administration felt he was no hack since they felt he was the man for the job…
June 1st, 2009 at 7:45 pmjohnintexas, would you mind terribly not insulting the office of the President by calling Obama “Obongo” every chance you get?
When you disrespect others, it bounces back on you.
Have fun at your cross burning.
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June 2nd, 2009 at 1:06 amJohnnyA$$
You are so stupid you arent capable of doing anything except embarassing yourself among those of us capable of higher brain function so why not do yourself a favor and just STFU
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:18 amSKdeAnt Says:
What do you expect from JohnnyA$$clown? He is a racist piece of garbage and too stupid to know any better.
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Hey Kevin. I just saw the YouTube video about web 3.0 and I have had this idea about our future economy.
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I’m a musician and I kinda have the feeling that in the future people will pay for live performances, because we have computer software that is very close to sounding like a musical instrument, with a modelled human touch. So, if a person that has never played the guitar, can click a button and sound like Jimi Hendrix, than what is the coolness about all this digital music really? Infact, I think that the more advanced this gets, the less interesting it becomes. We are still in awe over a youngster that can make the violin cry and we will definately be in even more awe when a person can actually do with their fingers that what we can do in an iPhone application.