What’s more torturous than the debate about torture?
The debate about whether to prosecute the Dubya administration higher-ups who enabled or authorized its use during interrogations of suspected terrorists.
The medieval torture techniques, deemed legal by White House lawyers, included methods also used by the Japs, Nazis, North Koreans and Red Chinese against American and other allied prisoners of war.
Central Intelligence Agency operatives who applied the technuiques, from 83 to 183 times to two suspects, have prosecution-free status because of the lawyer go-aheads.
But Dubya’s legal counsels, including a newly appointed member of the U.S. Court of Appeals, should face the music.
Along with former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Vice President Dick Cheney, who authorized the torture to get proof of Iraq and terrorist links as a justification for Dubya’s preemptive war.
They didn’t get the proof. And that proves torture doesn’t work. (26 APRIL 2009)