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And we knew they knew and we were right. ABC News aired a segment on their daily news show that after a five month investigation, they could say that Bush’s most senior officials not only knew about the torture they were inflicting on suspected terrorists, but decided down to the last detail exactly how much torture to inflict.
The discussions in the White House were top secret and sources say, involve some of the President’s most senior and influential advisors, principals of the National Security Council. In dozens of private talks and meetings, sources said that a handful of top advisors discussed specific high-value al Qaeda prisoners and exactly how those prisoners would be interrogated. Whether, for example, they would be slapped, pushed, deprived of sleep or subjected to simulated drowning, called waterboarding. The discussion about the “enhanced interrogation techniques” were so detailed, sources said, the interrogations were almost choreographed, down to the number of times the CIA could use a specific tactic. Former CIA director George Tenet, in an interview last year with ABC News told Charles Gibson,
“It was authorized. It was legal, according to the Attorney General of the United States.”
It also was discussed and approved in meetings by the National Security Council’s Principals Committee, a group that included Vice President Cheney, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, John Ashcroft.
There’s your war crimes tribunal list right there. While ABC brings up two terrorists that were connected to 9/11–implying that even though our country’s leaders have dragged us down to torturing people, at least they directed it at bad men who committed the worst tragedy on American soil–but what they fail to connect are names like Maher Arar, Khaled al-Masri, Bisher al-Rawi and Mohamed Farag Ahmad Bashmilah. Names of innocent men who were guilty of nothing more than being Muslim and were renditioned and tortured for information they could not provide.
So while it is a small comfort that a MSM is actually acknowledging and validating things that the liberal blogosphere have been yelling about for years, it is but a incremental step towards the truth that all Americans must know.
No Trackbacks To “They Knew“
Took a 5-month investigation to figure it out? Sheesh.
And now that they’ve spent two minutes covering it in-between commercials, we’ll never hear about it again. Way to go, M$M!
War criminals. They should be impeached. Period.
The Hague is waiting.
IMPEACH!
Institutionalization is called for, these are very sick people.
I wonder if any of this will make a damn bit of difference…
This is what Dubya meant by telling Woodward he didn’t care because everyone involved would be dead by then.
He wasn’t referring to his overall place in history - he was referring to his role as the American Caligula.
But the tiny brained folk are falling in line behind Teflon John McBush who will continue Dubya’s destruction of America.
Cheney’s going to escape to the new Halliburton headquarters in Dubai. Better get the marshalls to the White House before January 2009.
As the Dick would say, “SO?!”
Will ANYTHING be done to bring these obvious war criminals to justice?
OK. Now we have proof, but will our leaders do anything abiout it? Of course not. We will have to wait until BushCo. is out of office and international leaders do something. Our government if feeble and has no interest to punish their own. After all, a lot of them are criminals themselves.
We will never have a chance of regaining the respect of the world unless we eject these bozos and send them to jail for life, where they belong.
I suspect that there’s more than just torture afoot - we’ll likely find that these thugs-with-flag-pins have documented their abuse of the Constitution to the point that they talk openly about surveillance and KBR relocation camps.
But I’m afraid both the media and the Democratic leadership will wring their hands, say ‘alas, if only we had known the depths of perfidy,’ and DO NOTHING.
Of course they violated the Geneva convention and committed war crimes. Pelosi and Reid are guilty of war crimes too for their silence and sitting on their hands as far as I’m concerned.
I know this was only one small step, but I applaud ABC for taking it. At least they did something. Where it goes from here, we’ll see. It seems the rest of the media, the govt. and some of the country are just too lazy to pursue anything related to this.
Would someone PLEASE ask Obama and Clinton if when president they will pusue war crimes charges if elected!?
They Knew
Biblically?
I feel a little screwed.
I wonder if this will help or hurt Condi’s chances of being McCain’s veep? These days you just don’t know. The part of the country that is still peeing in their pants at just the mention of the word “terrorist” would probably like to have someone on the ticket who ok’s waterboarding.
NUCLEAR MCCAIN @ 4:
Ain’t going to happen. Pelosi stored the impeachment table in the attic a long time ago. First it was the taxpayer funded S&L bailout in the 80’s a la Neil Bush now the Iraq debacle a la George Bush. The Bush Crime Family and their surrogates have screwed America and gotten by with it once more.
Too bad none of them got a BJ in the white house so we could actually have something to impeach them for!!
Sven @ 13:
That would be a charge of either accessory before or after the fact, maybe both.
I’m not sure how protected politicians are like court officials from what they may do in the course of their profession.
However, I don’t think anyone is allowed to act in a way contrary to the ethics of their profession, or the average person also in their profession. Also they cannot perform acts that have nothing to do with their profession.
I forget the legal term, but it’s like a delivery truck has an accident, he’s covered by his company. But if he deviated from his route to boink his sweety, and on the way to or from her home the accident occurrs that’s not considered to be within the scope of his employment.
Even if he works for Scope mouthwash.
they all knew! what did they know? they all knew iraq had nothing , nothing to do with our governments attack on 911!
Exhibit nnn, for the prosecution, ICC at the Hague, War Crimes Tribunal.
The nazis tried to use the excuse that the atrocities they perpetrated we’re OK, because they were approved and adoptedunder the German nazi legal code. Nobody bought that flimsy argument. More recently, the crimes for which Saddam Hussein was just executed were legal under his dictatorship. “Legality” doesn’t wash in any of these cases.
In the history of our own legal system we have executed and imprisoned war criminals for torture and mistreatment, including this:
http://712educators.about.com/.....misc20.htm
The hanging was carried out on the National Mall. Now, because a group of malignantly twisted thugs need cover, atrocities are suddenly fine and dandy? I think any independent international tribunal would make short work of that.
Wow. And here I’d written off mainstream journalism as dead. Of course, it’s a day late and a dollar short, proverbially speaking, and they were too cowardly to point out what have been definitely dozens (and probably hundreds) of innocent people this administration have ruined — and probably in a few cases, murdered — but, hey, it’s a start.
Everyone, keep reminding your friends and family that the ringleader of all of this has given his blessing to John McCain. War hero and torture victim himself notwithstanding, the Republican candidate is effectively endorsing these crimes and we need to make sure people do not ignore that.
The interrogator’s were scapegoated and crucified while the people responsible got off Scott free. King Bush is a law onto himself and hides his dirty deeds behind the thin excuse of “executive privilege” Can a president be brought up on charges of treason against the USA after he leaves the ” whorehouse”? Whoops mean white house..
ABC had better be careful. Disney World could lose its no fly zone status. Can’t have the turrists targeting Mickey Mouse.
14All @ 11:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvzUdM29_uA
Disgusting, vile, backward, useless, evil toads. May they reap all they have sown threefold. And when their time of need arrives let no friend, no solace, no comfort and no safe haven be found for ANY of them.
So when do they all start repeating “I didn’t know.”, “I wasn’t aware.” and “I was just following orders.” ??
Echoes of German national socialists on trial at Nuremberg.
Short letter I just sent to Nancy Pelosi:
Dear Speaker Pelosi,
Now that we have incontrovertible proof, thanks to ABC news, that the president and his most senior officials planned, implemented and approved a systematic application of torture, will you consider putting impeachment back “on the table”? I ask you, if this does not constitute as a “high crime”, exactly what does? I appreciate hearing your explanation of what, exactly, President Bush’s administration has not done to justify impeachment and prosecution.
The current administration has embraced such a state of lawlessness and totalitarian machination that I look back with fondness and regret to the days when Richard Nixon was our president. And you and the rest of Congress still refuse to impeach, while Cheney looks right at the camera and says, “So?” These men and women belong in prison, not at the helm of a country that once had the respect of the world.
I had such high hopes for you when you gained your office. I know many other women who felt the same way. Please do not disappoint us.
Sincerely,
XXXXX
Sven @ 15:
Good advise. At the next debates, Hillary and Obama(and eventually McCain) should
be asked a specific question. “If it is proven that war crimes were committed by the
individuals in the previous administration, what do you intend to do in order to see
that steps are taken to prosecute?”
Yellow Elephant Safari @ 25:
Mickey might get a special mailing with anthrax in it.
This is scary. There have been so many things we “thought” they might have done but deep inside we thought perhaps we were jumping the shark with our ideas. Now when something like this comes to light and is proven, you wonder what other dastardly deeds that we have thought about have they also actually done or are about to do?
“SO?” Who didn’t know this? From the instant the drones and missles hit on 9/11, to Dubya’s solemn State of the Union speech filled with LIES, to the “shock and awe” destruction of Iraq and it’s people, to the Patriot Act, etc. this administration has done nothing but commit crimes against the American People, the Constitution of the United States of America and humanity. All in the name of arrogance and greed - for power and money.
There is no question that those named above and many more in this cabal should be brought to justice. Will that happen? Not likely, as the entire Congress is bought and paid for, or operating under some kind of threat. And all of these people are part of and protected by the international cabal that runs the world - you know the Fed, the IMF, WTO, CFR, World Bank, Bilderberg, UN, etc. Cheney, Bush, et al are just doing the bidding of the global elite to suck as much as they can out of the US.
We’ll all forget about these silly little crimes right after they pull the rug completely out from under the economy and the recession/depression hits full force. Who will have time to worry about finding, trying and prosecuting these monsters? We’ll all be busy growing food and trying to keep our houses warm, if we still have one.
TakeOurCountryBack @ 19:
McCain could suck GWB’s dick in front of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue on Labor Day in front of the entire media and it wouldn’t make a bit of difference.
The MSM would talk about the need for relief from Presidential stress and how John McCain was performing a patriotic duty.
Dr. Acula @ 30:
No, D-Con.
They have known about a lot of things….
things that they knew in advance….
things that they were creating and orchestrating…
things that they knew were false…..
and things that they knew the real source of….
this administration cares little about the 4032 lives of the uniformed military - the highest revered group in the pro-state mentality…
do you really think they’d care so much about so many thousands of civilians if they were lost in one day if it advanced their strategic goals?
Patricia, How many times I have said,”This is it!” only to find it gets swept under the rug, yet again. People wonder why people like us get so apathetic.
14All @ 28:
Good work and very concise. That’s the kind of letter that gets read.
In the words of the great John McClain:
“Welcome to the party pal!”
Amitola @ 32:
And the planned “die off” begins in 3…2…1…
I thought ABC had been bending their coverage right-wards. Are they re-positioning against the Administration given the political climate?
pissed off patricia @ 17
Rice will be touted as an expert in foreign policy. The repug sheep will shout “Yea, Rice for VP!” This country has no shame. The next time some of these repugs are on TV, such as McConnell, Graham, Lieberman;take a good look at these evil, dishonest faces. They lie and unfortunately the citizenry believes them.
14All @ 28:
I hope you used a pseudonym. If not, then it was nice knowing you, I’m sure the SA will be visiting your house shortly to make you “disappear.”
liberAL @ 40:
the bitch has good taste in shoes!!! she quilifys
Someone should make a video of clips of all the times bush has said, “We do not torture” Then end it with bits from this ABC report.
pissed off patricia @ 36:
And then ignored by our Speaker of the House.