Torture: The Smoking Gun? (Andrew Sullivan)

[jefferson_dem]

Torture: The Smoking Gun?

As more details trickle out, we have the possibility of a real breakthrough in accountability for the torture and abuse techniques authorized by president Bush as illustrated above. AP story here. Ambers:

Ostensibly, Yoo, an attorney for the Office of Legal Counsel and Bybee, that section's chief, were tasked by Attorney General John Ashcroft with determining whether so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques" violated U.S. law and treaty obligations. But a draft report, prepared by the Justice Department's Office of Professional Review, suggests that, at the direction of the White House, the OLC worked to justify a policy that had already been determined and did not begin their inquiry from a neutral position.

It is not clear -- and sources would not say -- who in the White House communicated with the two lawyers about the memos, and it is not clear whether Yoo or Bybee felt unduly pressured to provide a legal framework for a decision already made by senior administration officials.

Who in the White House ordered up these memos to provide phony legal cover for a plainly illegal torture policy already decided upon? That's what we need to find out. From the leaks, this OPR report could be the next critical step in finding out the source of the criminality. In the end, it's Holder's call; and he may decide to take his time. My concern, now that we have ended the torture program, is simply that we get to the bottom of its origin, however long it takes, and that those really responsible are held to account under the rule of law and under the judgment of history.

This is not about vengeance; it's not about partisanship; it's about the integrity of the rule of law, without which we are all lost.

http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/05/torture-the-smoking-gun.html

[BlooInBloo]

1. Credit where credit is due: for a bible-thumping zomgislamofacism! guy....

Sully has been absolutely bang-up on the torture thing.

EDIT: For *anybody*, for that matter.

[beachmom]

2. He backed Obama, said he was wrong on Iraq, Bush. Actually, he endorsed Kerry now I think of it.

He is a conservative, most notably on economic issues, but I think he no longer buys into anything the neoconservatives are trying to sell, and hasn't in quite a long time.

I read him daily, so I know.

[BlooInBloo]

3. Let's not go too far with the accolades. He still things zomgislamofascism is the #1 threat we face.

[beachmom]

5. Not really, And actually, he never uses that term anymore.

They ARE a threat, of course (are you denying that?), and as far as a hot war, as in our country being attacked, they are #1 (is China or India or Russia going to attack our shores? I don't think so).

I am a center Left type, and although I disagree with him all the time, I don't find his stuff overall being out there the way he used to be.

[BlooInBloo]

10. Sorry - I'm not in the mood for the Put Words In The Other Guy's Mouth game tonite - maybe later.

[MannyGoldstein]

4. There Will Be Zero Prosecutions

Sad.

[beachmom]

6. How do you know? We are very early into this.

[MannyGoldstein]

7. For Example

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jseitMBY7vwNpuvEsb1zvkvaVxrQD980DRC80

Obama has always picked his words very carefully on this.

[ProSense]

8. What does that prove?

That's the MSM blowing smoke. This is buried at the end of the article.

The results of the investigation were delayed late last year, when then-Attorney General Michael Mukasey and his deputy asked investigators to allow the lawyers a chance to respond to their findings, as is typically done for those who still work for the Justice Department.

They're creating the impression that the opinion is new and relevant in light of the release of the torture memos. From the NYT article about the draft (also buried at the end):

The draft report on the interrogation opinions was completed in December and has provoked controversy within counterterrorism circles, which has intensified since last month when the Obama administration disclosed four previously secret opinions written from 2002 and 2005, which for the first time detailed the approved procedures.

On edit: The Bush administration recommending that Bush officials not be held criminally liable for torture.

[MannyGoldstein]

9. I Guess We'll Wait And See n/t