"Damn right, we did. I ordered it. So what? Nobody will ever prove it ..."
(ho ho hee hee ha ha)
This post relates to the following headlines and then
a few details on the subject that got us here with the Judge’s decision. Here
is the headline that got my attention and
that warrants this review:
Judge Who Blocked Release of Osama bin-Laden Death Photos Now
Blocks Release of Senate Torture Report
The background then goes back to the Senate in 2014 with this re: The CIA Torture Report
Senate Votes to Declassify Parts of CIA Torture Report
Also,
I wanted to remind everyone what former President George Walker Bush said about torture: In
his recent memoir “Decision Points,”
Mr. Bush admitted that he enthusiastically authorized that certain detainees be
water boarded – or tortured, which has been a Federal and war crime for decades
under both domestic and international law. When asked if he would authorize the
torture of detainees again, the former president declared “Damn right!”
The
release of his memoir coincides with reports that no one will face criminal
charges for the destruction of CIA videotapes which contained interrogations
using water boarding (since President Obama said, “We need to look forward, not
backward.” (Sic) here on Youtube – in his words.
The Bush clip is here
on Youtube and also is in his own words
about why he said okay to water boarding ... it is perhaps the weakest excuse
in American history ranking up there with former Army Lt. William Calley who
said about his ordering of the My Lai massacre, “I
was just following orders.” (Mr. Bush
apparently was just following his lawyers’ orders - oops).
Now
here we are today: The basic premised why the Senate report is being blocked is
simple and by careful design, in a nutshell as the Judge states this way:
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) filed a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request for the release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s full report
on the CIA program. The executive summary of the report was previously made
public, albeit with numerous redactions.
Now, U.S. District Court Judge James
Boasberg (appointed by Mr. Obama) has rejected the ACLU’s request, ruling that the
report remains a congressional record and thus isn’t subject to the FOIA. When
Congress created FOIA in 1966, it made sure to exempt the legislative branch
from its provisions.
That may be true (can’t be released under
FOIA rules), but Congress can waive that and allow the release of the report
for the public read – why? This government acted on our behalf and by all
accounts broke a lot of laws regarding treatment of detainees and that report
will shed light on the program. The public does indeed in my view have a
compelling right to know – then we can make up our mind to judge whether our
government acted on our best behalf or not. That is fundamental to our system,
isn’t it?
Closely related:
- http://halfwaypundit.blogspot.com/2015/04/apa-and-cia-torture-program-novices-at.html
- http://www.halfwaypundit.blogspot.com/2014/12/senate-torture-report-is-out-fox-leads.html
- http://www.halfwaypundit.blogspot.com/2014/12/dark-dick-cheney-ssci-torture-report-is.html
- http://www.halfwaypundit.blogspot.com/2014/12/gop-massive-and-effective-pr-machine.html
- http://www.halfwaypundit.blogspot.com/2014/12/what-is-torture-blocking-senate-torture.html
If this ruling stands, it keeps the spotlight on an ugly chapter in our history and the country that will forever remain a terrible stain ... that should matter - so why doesn't it?
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