Dick Cheney may be first to be prosecuted for use of torture on POWs

[BirminghamExaminer]

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5890-Obama-Administration-Examiner~y2009m4d22-Dick-Cheney-may-be-first-to-be-prosecuted-for-use-of-torture-on-POWs">Op-Ed Excerpt:

(snip)

Last night, Rachel Maddow interviewed a former Bush administration lawyer and aid to Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, Philip Zelikow, who wrote a memo arguing that the memos in support of torture were legally unsound. Later, the Bush administration tried to round up any of the opposition to torture memos and destroy them. Maddow's interview is in two parts.

The Bush administration knew there were dissenting memos on the legality of the use of torture on prisoners of war. Because they tried to destroy copies of the dissenting memos, it is clear that the Bush administration had varying opinions available to them but selected the opinion that gave them the green light for torture. They didn't merely choose to ignore the dissenting memos, they tried to ferret them out and destroy them. Luckily, not all of the memos were found and destroyed.

Former Vice-President Dick Cheney is urging that more classified memos regarding the torture interrogation techniques be released. Cheney doesn't appear to have any doubt about the use of torture in the interrogation of prisoners, claiming that what he euphemistically calls enhanced interrogation techniques prevented further terrorist attacks on the U.S. after 9/11, a claim that is so far unsubstantiated.

In the following video, David Shuster and Lawrence O'Donnell discuss Cheney's recent interviews on the Rupert Murdoch owned Fox News cable network. Cheney takes the opportunity while being interviewed by Sean Hannity to criticize President Obama for shaking hands with Hugo Chavez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela.

It's hard to fathom why former VP Cheney continues to draw attention to himself and his role in the illegal torture of prisoners of war. Though he initially thought it was a bad idea that the torture memos be released, he is now calling for the release of even more of them. Because Cheney has so publicly acknowledged that he participated in approval of the torture used on prisoners of war, and in fact at one point, seemed to brag that it was him that gave the okay to do so, it's likely he will be one of the first to be prosecuted when and if AG Holder ever gets around to upholding the law on the issue of torture.

http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-5890-Obama-Administration-Examiner~y2009m4d22-Dick-Cheney-may-be-first-to-be-prosecuted-for-use-of-torture-on-POWs">For the entire article and videos, go here.

[monmouth]

1. Hillary also mentioned in her testimony today when asked about

the Chavez handshake that Cheney amongst others, thought was so terrible; she stated that the US has been meeting with dictators, communists, etc. since she can remember as a young girl. She gave Cheney a good smackdown, and doesn't consider him a reliable source. Gawd, it was beautiful and I might also add she had a great "hair day."....

[Psychic Consortium]

2. Is he trying to sway the jury pool in a future prosecution?? nt

[Chemisse]

3. Cheney' ego getting him in trouble

I can't imagine that someone with such a mammoth ego really believes he would be prosecuted. I think he is just out to improve his image, an image he didn't seem to care about during the eight years he was doing his dastardly deeds. He wants people to recognize how important he was during the Bush administration.

It is consistent with his poor judgment all along that he is hanging himself by piling up the evidence for a future prosecution.

[BirminghamExaminer]

4. I too think his ego is so colossal that he actually thinks he can convince

Americans that torture was good. It seems that new information is coming to light however that may link the torture to pressure to connect Al Queda to Iraq BEFORE we invaded Iraq.

Hang on to your hats folks, this is going to be a bumpy ride!

[tblue37]

5. I wonder whether he is such a power addict that he is suffering from

withdrawal symptoms, and thus his recent moves are just efforts to reinsert himself into the action as a power player.

[Psychic Consortium]

6. Complex situation: naricissistic and paranoid personality

with supreme ego who is running a rogue and illegal government.
But he is quite agitated lately, scared. He knows his power is going
and he is in trouble.

[Psychic Consortium]

7. Sociopaths often begin to crumble when the net is closing in on them. nt

[ejpoeta]

8. couldn't happen to a bigger a-hole.

i don't quite know why cheney is torturing us with his presence like this, but if he wants to play chicken, i hope he fucking loses! I don't understand how anyone can NOT want prosecutions. How can we stand there with a straight face and dare to call for prosecutions of other countries leaders or even talk about it at all!! when we won't hold ourselves accountable for our own actions.