they knew
Here's two salient quotes from a significant NYT Story by Neil Lewis on the ongoing revelations about the torture of prisoners under BushCo.and how the Bush Justice Department overrode the advice of its own military:
And this:
So United States Military lawyers warned the Bush Administration and the DoD that our treatment of prisoners was in violation of international law, U.S. law, military ethics, and, in fact, common sense. That didn't stop General Miller, however, from talking about the "effectiveness" of using dogs in a September 2003 meeting with the warden at Abu Ghraib. We learned from the Taguba report what followed:
We all know that if the American public doesn't see it...then it didn't happen. How much don't we know?
Maj. Gen. Jack L. Rives, [advised] the task force that several of the "more extreme interrogation techniques, on their face, amount to violations of domestic criminal law" as well as military law. General Rives added that many other countries were likely to disagree with the reasoning used by Justice Department lawyers about immunity from prosecution. Instead, he said, the use of many of the interrogation techniques "puts the interrogators and the chain of command at risk of criminal accusations abroad."
Rear Adm. Michael F. Lohr, the Navy's chief lawyer, wrote on Feb. 6, 2003, that while detainees at Guantánamo Bay might not qualify for international protections, "Will the American people find we have missed the forest for the trees by condoning practices that, while technically legal, are inconsistent with our most fundamental values?"
And this:
The former warden [of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq], Maj. David Dinenna, testified at the end of a preliminary hearing for two Army dog handlers accused of abusing Iraqi detainees. Major Dinenna said that at a meeting in September 2003, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, then the Guantánamo commander, talked about the effectiveness of using the dogs.
So United States Military lawyers warned the Bush Administration and the DoD that our treatment of prisoners was in violation of international law, U.S. law, military ethics, and, in fact, common sense. That didn't stop General Miller, however, from talking about the "effectiveness" of using dogs in a September 2003 meeting with the warden at Abu Ghraib. We learned from the Taguba report what followed:
Taguba's 53-page report, classified "Secret" and dated April 4, 2004, concluded that U.S. soldiers had committed "egregious acts and grave breaches of international law" at Abu Ghraib. Taguba found that between October and December 2003 there were numerous instances of "sadistic, blatant, and wanton criminal abuses" of prisoners.
Source:Wiki: Abu Ghraib (graphic)
We all know that if the American public doesn't see it...then it didn't happen. How much don't we know?
Comments
And finally, a leader must uphold the honor and the dignity of the office to which he had been elected. (APPLAUSE) In my administration, we will ask not only what is legal, but what is right. (APPLAUSE) Not just what the lawyers allow, but what the public deserves. (APPLAUSE) In my administration, we'll make it clear there is the controlling legal authority of conscience. (APPLAUSE) We will make people proud again, so that Americans who love their country can once again respect their government.
P.S. Congratulations on the founding of k/o. Best to read it every day.
I'll spread the meme.
kid o.