Bush administration admits to torture at Guantanamo

[w¡n9Nµ7 §£@¥€r 123]

From the day the US military started holding detainees, George Bush has had a constant refrain.

GEORGE W. BUSH: "This Government does not torture people.

I want to be absolutely clear with our people and the world. The United States does not torture. It's against our laws and it's against our values. I have not authorised it and I will not authorise it."

But now in an explosive interview with the Washington Post, Susan Crawford, one of the key administration officials responsible for dealing with the detainees, single-handedly demolishes this argument.

"We tortured Mohammed al-Qahtani," she tells reporter Bob Woodward. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture."

That treatment included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation and prolonged exposure to cold.

A military report has previously revealed Qahtani was forced to wear a woman's bra and had women's underwear placed on his head during the course of his interrogation, which took place over 50 days from late 2002 to early 2003.

The military has also admitted Qahtani was tied to a leash and forced to perform a series of dog tricks.

The treatment of the man who was allegedly planning to take part in the September 11 terrorist attacks was so intense that he was twice hospitalised in a life-threatening condition.

Susan Crawford, a retired judge who's been the convening authority for the Guantanamo military commissions for the last two years, says the treatment was abusive and uncalled for.

It's why she dismissed war crimes charges against him in May last year. The evidence gained from the interrogations would not be admissible.

Ms Crawford says that while she sympathises with intelligence gatherers in the days after September 11, there still has to be a line the US should not cross.

...

A spokesman for the Pentagon says the interrogation techniques used on Qahtani were authorised by the former Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

He says while some the aggressive questioning techniques used on the detainee were permissible at the time, they are no longer allowed.

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2008/s2466334.htm

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bump

[Chica Yeyé 41]

and you are surprised?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

bump

Day 1 of Obama's Administration will be an order to close these gulags.

[Mononoke28 137]

Well, surprise... surprise.

Diana

[mawilson 2,133]

Yeah - Jack Bauer confessed as well.

[Amby 490]

and you are surprised?

I'm not surprised but I really don't think it's a bad thing either. If they have to torture someone to get information that will save thousands of lives then I think they should torture them. It'd rather one "bad guy" suffer than 1000s of innocent people die.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Yeah - Jack Bauer confessed as well.

You're next. Fess up.

[mawilson 2,133]

Yeah - Jack Bauer confessed as well.

You're next. Fess up.

I tortured a bunch of terrorists once.

[Amby 490]

nvm

Edited January 15, 2009 by Amby

[Yoink 7]

legal definition of torture? Who defined it and then who set a legal limit to that definition?

Torture is justifiable in extreme instances

[one...two...tree 2,762]

nvm

Amber, have you become Mark's lapdog?

[Amby 490]

nvm

Amber, have you become Mark's lapdog?

Steve have you become an inquisitive douchebag?

[one...two...tree 2,762]

legal definition of torture? Who defined it and then who set a legal limit to that definition?

Torture is justifiable in extreme instances

Are you serious??? There's was no legal fuzziness as to what constitutes as torture until Bush's legal team decided they'd make up their own definition.

Justice Expands 'Torture' Definition

Earlier Policy Drew Criticism

By R. Jeffrey Smith and Dan Eggen Washington Post Staff Writers

Friday, December 31, 2004;

The Justice Department published a revised and expansive definition late yesterday of acts that constitute torture under domestic and international law, overtly repudiating one of the most criticized policy memorandums drafted during President Bush's first term.

In a statement published on the department's Web site, the head of its Office of Legal Counsel declares that "torture is abhorrent both to American law and values and international norms" and goes on to reject a previous statement that only "organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death" constitute torture punishable by law.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/artic...-2004Dec30.html

[mawilson 2,133]

nvm

Amber, have you become Mark's lapdog?

Huh?