Obama: No charges for harsh CIA interrogation

[defendandprotect]

Obama: No charges for harsh CIA interrogation

By JENNIFER LOVEN and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers Jennifer Loven And Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writers – 12 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama absolved CIA officers from prosecution for harsh, painful interrogation of terror suspects Thursday, even as his administration released Bush-era memos graphically detailing — and authorizing — such grim tactics as slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding them and keeping them naked and cold for long periods.

Human rights groups and many Obama officials have condemned such methods as torture. Bush officials have vigorously disagreed.

In releasing the documents, the most comprehensive accounting yet of interrogation methods that were among the Bush administrations most closely guarded secrets, Obama said he wanted to move beyond "a dark and painful chapter in our history."

Past and present CIA officials had unsuccessfully pressed for more parts of the four legal memos to be kept secret, and some critics argued the release would make the United States less safe.

Michael Hayden, who led the CIA under George W. Bush, said CIA officers will now be more timid and allies will be more reluctant to share sensitive intelligence.

"If you want an intelligence service to work for you, they always work on the edge. That's just where they work," Hayden said. Now, he argued, foreign partners will be less likely to cooperate with the CIA because the release shows they "can't keep anything secret."

On the other side, human rights advocates argued that Obama should not have assured the CIA that officers who conducted interrogations would not be prosecuted if they used methods authorized by Bush lawyers in the memos.



http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090417/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/torture_memos

[defendandprotect]

1. "National Security" BS and "just taking orders" BS have to go ---

And I hope that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld will be pursued and face justice some day!

[flvegan]

2. "Move along. Nothing to see here. Pay no attention to that."

Forgive and forget. Two words I'm going to have to swallow hard, I guess.

[L. Coyote]

3. No Change Here, Keep Waiting

[empyreanisles]

4. He didn't absolve *all* CIA officers. He absolves the ACTUAL PEOPLE

who did the dirty work. He never said those higher up who gave the orders could not be Prosecuted.

[defendandprotect]

5. Obama has made "national security" an even bigger blanket . . .

and is elevating "just taking orders" to an honorable level--!!!!

This is all counter to Geneva Accords and Nuremberg --

The Geneva Accords don't say no torture . . . EXCEPT for those you fear most!

It says, NO TORTURE!!!

[Bluerthanblue]

6. that's an important correction- and there is NO saying

that he couldn't change his decision some time in the future.

Thanks for clarifing this.

:hi:

[LeFleur1]

7. Gee, We Can Save Money By Not Prosecuting

Murderers who killed quickly, thieves who got in and out without incident, and all the rest of the crooks and sadists. Forget about them. Look forward, not backward.
Forgetting that people have broken the law is a very dumb thing to do. It encourages law breakers. It causes those with no conscience to commit acts of torture and mayhem.
Sometimes it takes courage to do the right thing and bring on the wrath of the Republicans. Sometimes it takes courage to...you know...change things.

[Bluerthanblue]

9. fuck that- who's talking about not

prosecuting?

Not me- you want it done right this very minute? well, then go get elected president, take over a country that is swirling around the drain, and when people condemn every single move you make as being outrageous, then I'll defend your right to have at least a LITTLE time to get everything straightened out.

We Americans are a very impatient and rude lot. "I want what I WANT NOW!" or you suck. ??? He DID release the memos- he could have chosen otherwise- He DID say that all those techniques would END- give him a frickin chance for gods sake.

geesh...!

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. When Life hands you lemons, grab a bottle of Tequila and make margaritas.

:silly:

[Bluerthanblue]

10. my reply above fits this as well-

sorry- i'm not gonna condemn Obama as worthless because he's not stopping everything else, and making this the focus of his administration.

he's said it will NOT continue- and he's left the door open to future prosecution. But most importantly-

HE DID RELEASE THE MEMOS EVEN WHEN HE KNEW HE'D BE SOUNDLY CONDEMNED FOR IT!


:shrug: