The program was introduced not long after 9/11, and when Panetta stepped into office, he learned of Cheney's order to the Bush Administration's CIA to not to release any details.
Hmmm. Curious piece of information. Here are some other facts for you.
Despite Bush's claims that the US government didn't use torture in his administration, we know that's not true. Maybe he means the US doesn't officially torture American citizens.
Much of this is classified and alleged, but what we do know is that the administration made a habit of abducting suspected terrorists -- though not always arresting them or assigning charges -- and giving them the title of "enemy combatants." This means they're not entitled to the rights they would have had as "prisoners of war" under the Geneva Convention, which clearly dismisses the use of mental or physical torture. As enemy combatants, members of al-Qaeda, for example, were deported to black sites or other countries that do allow torture, such as Syria or Lebanon. Therefore, the American government wouldn't actually be torturing during its interrogations on American soil, and the government can get away with never publicly condoning the use of torture, yet still implement it by getting other countries to do their dirty work for them. Plus, there's a little something called Guantanamo Bay.
That's the brief background, thanks to past research results from factcheck.org, Human Rights Watch, American news stories, and Al-Jazeera. This Amnesty International report lists a few allegations:
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/063/2005
So, those are the straight facts. Here's my speculation.
Cheney's refusal to keep Congress informed reminds me of the time he declared that the vice president doesn't fit under any branch of government and thus doesn't have to conform to their rules. His primary concern was always national security, but his methods irk me. Why is the guy keeping mum? What has he to hide?
Cheney's aides might claim releasing reports would "compromise the security of the people." BullsPit, Mr. Speaker. If you think you have this clever plan that torturing people willy nilly is more effective if it's a surprise when the victims arrive to the black site, you're mistaken. Torture operates on fear tactics, and you'd actually get more results if you let potential terrorists know that's what they're up against should they get caught, and the government is relentless enough to compromise rights of the innocent on a regular basis.
No, that's not it. My guess is Cheney is well aware of how illegal his actions are, so he figures hiding the information from Congress when he had a legal obligation to inform them was the lesser of two evils. Cheney's imaginery fourth branch of government means he tells himself, "I'm in the right. Congress just wouldn't understand."
Hmmmmmm. Yep. Because one guy would know so much more than the hundreds of qualified representatives who are working just as hard to protect the country as he is.
Alright, first, I do not believe anyone orders that much torture "willy-nilly."
ReplyDeleteSecond, this is after a full round-robin blaming just about everyone. The intelligence committee was blamed for not securing complete information. Pelosi was blamed for knowing about it but not saying anything. Pelosi then blames CIA directors for not telling her. Who in turn tell Congress she is not telling the whole truth. Then you hear that they have stopped feuding, and within a day it's Cheney's fault? I'm going to play devil's advocate here and say it is not fair to blame the most intelligent guy who can not be held accountable now. Blame the guy who's out of office? After how many people you have blamed? That does not seem fair. It seems politiking is in action, and let's blame it on the most evil man we can think of who no longer works there.
I'm sorry, but that is bad office politics no matter where you work.
I think it is all a case of "Well they did it, so we can too!"
I'd agree that there has been a round of blaming going around, as is normal in politics when shit hits the fan, but this one is clear cut.
ReplyDeleteCheney himself said he doesn't think he fits under the rules of the three executive branches. He also pulled more strings with George W. than anyone else did. If there was one person that was more powerful than the President in the White House during the Bush administration, I would say it was ol' Dickey here.
I'm sure other people knew. There is always someone else that knows. However Cheney himself ordered the information to be withheld from Congress, and for that he is responsible.
Finally, I truly DO think people can order torture 'willy-nilly', especially when it's a fear-mongering, oil-hugging hack administration like George Bush's. There's a reason why evil people get the finger pointed at them... it's because they're evil.
this is the same Anonymous as the second poster, fyi:
ReplyDeleteMay I remind you that the CIA (along with the FBI, NSA, and many other government organizations) are being sued by the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) under the Freedom of Information Act because they (along with the other organizations) failed to release reports to the Intelligence Oversight Board about malfeasances in the CIA's operations.
Bush and Cheney also ushered in an executive order so that criminal activity did NOT have to be reported to this board.
Finally, there's the other CIA cover-up report floating around, that they did not release information to Congress about a team of assassins sent to kill Al-Qaida leaders. If Cheney did what he apparently did, and the CIA did what THEY apparently did, they're in a world of legal trouble.
It's pretty clear what side Anonymous 2/3 takes... way to be unbiased, kiddo.
ReplyDeletePlease watch something besides CNN, and read something besides MSNBC. I am sure if you actually did your research, you will find unbiased media somewhere. Or look at records, child. There is nothing like first-hand documentation to give yourself credibility.
Your 'willy-nilly' statement alone shows you are irrational and not to be taken seriously.
I agree with Anonymous 1 in that there IS a lot of mud-slinging, but this happens every day in the district.
If you care, listen to the current President of the U.S. and move forward. Stop looking into the past to try to discover more problems. There were enough from the past administration, and many more now. I believe these should be solved first, but that is simply my opinion.