St. Pete Times: End the torture regime

[Coexist]

http://opinion.tampabay.com/2007/10/10/images/tb_opine,jpg

As the Senate Judiciary Committee prepares to hold confirmation hearings on the nomination of Michael Mukasey to be attorney general, it should keep in mind the way the Justice Department has been used under the last two attorneys general to provide legal cover for torture.

There is no other way to describe the series of abusive practices authorized for use against "high-value" prisoners. According to the New York Times, CIA officials even consulted their Egyptian and Saudi Arabian counterparts for advice - two governments that our nation regularly condemns for its mistreatment of prisoners.

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There has been a disturbing level of dishonesty by the Bush administration on the treatment of detainees, and two newly disclosed legal memos out of the Office of Legal Counsel underscore the administration's outrages.

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Apparently if an enemy government were to deprive our soldiers of sleep while denying them proper food while holding them in a frigid cell, naked, and then pouring water over their mouths so they think they're drowning, we wouldn't object since that is not cruel treatment in the administration's book.

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