Anyone who thinks they have all the Answers before they've even heard the Question - is Dangerously Deluded! Real Truth Requires Vigilance, Perseverance and Courage, regardless of Party and who wields Power. Left, Right, Center, Corporations, Government, Unions, Criminals or the Indifferent.
Color me shocked , but this just came out from MSNBC.
MADRID - Spanish prosecutors will recommend against opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, the country's attorney-general said Thursday.
Candido Conde-Pumpido said the case against the high-ranking U.S. officials — including former U.S. Attorney-General Alberto Gonzales — was without merit because the men were not present when the alleged torture took place.
Are you kidding me?
Apparently not.
"If one is dealing with a crime of mistreatment of prisoners of war, the complaint should go against those who physically carried it out," Conde-Pumpido said in a breakfast meeting with journalists. He said a trial of the men would have turned Spain's National Court "into a plaything" to be used for political ends.
If this is true then the only persons eligible to be prosecuted for torture are the CIA assests who - under the direction, orders and bogus legal justifications provided by the the Bush Six.
In this vein there happens to already be a wrongful death lawsuit against the Pentagon on behalf of two detainees who died at Gitmo.
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Families of two Saudi detainees who committed suicide in June 2006 while being held at Guantanamo Bay have sued the Pentagon, alleging Jan. 29 that torture and brutal conditions at the offshore prison led the men to their deaths.
The New-York based Center for Constitutional Rights said the parents of Yassar Talal al-Zahrani and Salah Ali Abdullah Ahmed al-Salami are seeking unspecified damages for the “illegal detention, torture, inhumane conditions, and ultimate deaths” of their sons.
The final brief in the civil suit was filed Jan. 29 in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.
In a ruling that could have widespread implications for government contractors overseas, a federal court has concluded that four former Abu Ghraib detainees, who were tortured and later released without charge, can sue the U.S. military contractor who was involved in conducting prisoner interrogations for the Pentagon in Iraq.
U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, appointed by President Bill Clinton in 1998, denied a motion to dismiss the detainees’ claims by the contractor, CACI International. The Arlington, Virginia-based company is a major contractor to the Defense Department.
The former detainees allege multiple violations of U.S. law, including torture, war crimes and civil conspiracy
Whether our own Justice Dept will invoke a Special Prosecutor to investigation violations of 18 USC 2340 (Torture) and 18 USC 2441 (War Crimes) committed at Gitmo, Bagram, Abu Ghraib and the now closing "Black Sites" still remains unknown, as the last set of Bybee/Yoo Torture memos tiptoe toward release (Jeremy Scahill:They May be Redacted, First) and the internal OLC Inspector Generals report remains pending.
Last night on Rachel, Newsweek reporter Michael Isikoff revealed that an internal DOJ OPR report strongly criticizes the various memo's justifying and excusing "Enhanced Interrogation" techniques as "sloppy and "unethical".
But it gets even worse, Isikoff explains...
First there is the fact that former Attorney General Mukasey deliberately delayed the report
Mr. Jarrett’s office completed a draft report late last year, but Michael B. Mukasey, the attorney general at the time, and his deputy, Mark R. Filip, insisted that it not be considered final until written responses from Mr. Yoo, Judge Bybee and Mr. Bradbury could be incorporated. The three are now in the process of submitting their responses, according to an official who agreed to speak about the internal report only on condition of anonymity.
Officials said the report assesses the reasoning used in justifying the harsh methods and pressure from the White House to reach particular conclusions. The Office of Professional Responsibility can refer cases for criminal investigation, but legal experts say a more likely possibility is a referral to bar associations for potential disciplinary action.
I think it might be somewhat difficult to continue serving on the Federal Bench - as Jay Bybee currently does - if you aren't a lawyer anymore. (He coule possibly be Impeached!) The same goes for John Yoo who is currently "teaching" law at Berkeley and being on staff at Chapman University). (Correction: Apparently NOT - Yoo has tenure at Berkeley, and would need to be convicted of a crime to be booted!)
Once these responses are received, hopefully, the final report will land on the desk of AG Eric Holder who has already stated not only is Waterboarding is Torture, but that the President doesn't have some "Magical Article 2 Power" to make torture legal with the wave of his pen.
In his appearance on Rachel, Isikoff suggests that the reason disbarment may be the recommendation of the report may be because rather than being the honest opinion and result of an honest view of the law, the opinions from Yoo, Bybee and their boss Steven Bradbury may have been specifically crafted to reach the White Houses desired conclusions. Apparently the reports doesn't recommend prosecution - but if it did there are plenty of fertiles grounds. If Isikoff is correct, the memos weren't legal guidance for the White House to follow - they were excuses and legal cover for the White House to get away with War Crimes.
If that's true - It could be prosecuted as Conspiracy under 18 USC 2441.
(A) Torture.— The act of a person who commits, or conspires or attempts to commit, an act specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control for the purpose of obtaining information or a confession, punishment, intimidation, coercion, or any reason based on discrimination of any kind.
What happens when you violate 2441? This:
(a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.
The ACLU has just released formerly classified documents uncovering at least two detainees who were beaten and tortured to death at Bagram AFB in AFghanistan. If - and that's a BIG IF - the tactics used can be traced back to techniques authorized by Bush under justifications provided by Yoo, Bybee and Bradbury - we're talking Grey-bar Hotel and maybe even Old Sparky for the lot of them.
Investigation of two deaths at Bagram. Both detainees were determined to have been killed by pulmonary embolism caused as a result of standing chained in place, sleep depravation and dozens of beatings by guards and possibly interrogators. (Also reveals the use of torture at Gitmo and American-Afghani prisons in Kabul )
The OPR reports doesn't attempt to make such a connection - but perhaps someone should. Particularly since previously released autopsy reports show that those two were only the tip of the iceberg.
""There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths,"" said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU. ""High-ranking officials who knew about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must be held accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture scandal that has rocked our military.""
The documents released today include 44 autopsies and death reports as well as a summary of autopsy reports of individuals apprehended in Iraq and Afghanistan. The documents show that detainees died during or after interrogations by Navy Seals, Military Intelligence and ""OGA"" (Other Governmental Agency) -- a term, according to the ACLU, that is commonly used to refer to the CIA.
According to the documents, 21 of the 44 deaths were homicides. Eight of the homicides appear to have resulted from abusive techniques used on detainees, in some instances, by the CIA, Navy Seals and Military Intelligence personnel. The autopsy reports list deaths by ""strangulation,"" ""asphyxiation"" and ""blunt force injuries."" An overwhelming majority of the so-called ""natural deaths"" were attributed to ""Arteriosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease.""
Yoo, Bybee and Bradbury have alot to answer for - but then Justice is probably far too much to expect. At the very least we can hope for an Independant Counsel for War Crimes! (Crossing fingers) Pretty Please Mr. Holder?
Vyan
In the name of the Holy The greatest sins are done The righteous point a finger Like the barrel of a gun
