Wednesday, April 17, 2013

Nonpartisan group finds that, without a doubt, the Bush administration is guilty of torture. Somebody organize a jury while I get some rope.

"Yeah, so we broke the law and used torture, What are ya gonna do about it?" 
Courtesy of Raw Story:

A nonpartisan group led by a former top Bush administration official concluded a two-year review on Tuesday that finds the former president and his top advisers knowingly ordered interrogation techniques that U.S. officials have previously referred to as torture. 

“After conducting our own two-year investigation, weighing the credibility of all sources and studying the current public record, we have come to the regrettable, but unavoidable, conclusion that the United States did indeed engage in conduct that is clearly torture,” former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR), who served as undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security during the Bush administration, said in an advisory. 

The 577-page review, put together by the advocacy group The Constitution Project, includes interviews with dozens of people who have first-hand knowledge of the discussions about interrogation techniques and their implementation. Although Bush administration loyalists said at the time that “enhanced interrogation tactics” like stress positions, waterboarding, mock executions, sensory deprivation and prolonged diapering were not torture, this report aims to specifically and finally emphasize that these activities meet the clinical definition of “torture.” 

“As long as the debate continues, so too does the possibility that the United States could again engage in torture,” the report says, according to The New York Times, which received an advance copy. 

“What sets the United States apart as a world leader, in addition to our military might, are our values and respect for the rule of law. All the available evidence led us to conclude that, for many of these detainees, the U.S. violated both international law and treaties and our own laws, greatly diminishing America’s ability to forge important alliances around the world,” former Rep. James R. Jones (D-OK) added in the group’s advisory. 

The report also notes dozens of instances in which U.S. officials and U.S courts treated similar tactics as torture when applied to U.S. persons, and urges the Obama administration to declassify a 6,000-page Senate report on the extent of torture’s use during the Bush years. 

“This has not been an easy inquiry for me, because I know many of the players,” Hutchinson told The New York Times. “But I just think we learn from history. It’s incredibly important to have an accurate account not just of what happened but of how decisions were made.” 

Okay so now that this report is finished and it leaves NO doubt that the Bush administration engaged in criminal activities. let's have the whole slimy bunch of them arrested for treason.

All criminal investigations into the Bush torture program have been called off by the Obama administration.

Fuck!

So nothing. These bastards destroy our reputation, lie us into two unnecessary wars, spy on our citizens, and damn near near bankrupt the country, and nothing happens to them?

No of course not. But just let President Obama fail to leave a tip after eating lunch and the impeachment hearings will commence posthaste.

Fucking Republicans!

29 comments:

  1. Anonymous6:02 AM

    Cheney managed to sneak into Thatchers' funeral without being arrested, so that 'they can't travel out of the US' stuff is bullshit, I guess.

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    1. Anonymous12:23 PM

      Cheaney Shrub and comp. can travel outside of the U.S. but in other countrys they can not even travel through with out being under threat of arrest. I belive Shrub, had a speaking engagement in Canada and he had trouble getting permission to travel to canada.

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  2. Randall6:33 AM

    Your Republican relatives no longer get to claim the high ground. No more are they allowed to cloak themselves in sanctimonious Christiandom. It is THEIR PARTY that condones torture of human beings.

    Don't allow them to try to excuse torture by claiming it was done to save American lives:
    we're supposed to be the good guys.

    IF President Obama were half as evil as the Republicans - then and now - he would immediately release the report and indict the whole Bush crew on high crimes and treason.

    If the shoe were on the other foot - the Republicans wouldn't hesitate for a single heartbeat.

    But then... that's because the Democrats ARE the good guys.


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    1. Anonymous12:01 PM

      You are an idiot. When will you morons stop cheering for "your team" and start cheering for humanity and the United States Constitution? Charging the entire party with the crimes of one man is ridiculous. No true American supports war crime. If Bush is guilty, HANG HIM. And if your venerated god, Barry is guilty, HANG HIM.

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    2. Anonymous12:01 PM

      WHEW! Pretty uptight there huh buddy! Were you grinding your teeth while you were writing this? I can see your clenched jaws from my front porch! Ummm...and you might want to do something about those clenched buttocks too...all that pent up anger can't be good for ya' dontcha think troll? LOL!!!

      PS...are you kidding...."United States Constitution"...is that the new teabagger party that CreepyJr is trying to start for his stupid ass sister? Good luck with that one! LOL!!

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  3. The strange thing is that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who will say they voted for Bush-Cheney. Surfing around the comment sections of various blogs, nobody seems to want to admit it.

    Yet, I clearly remember being told many times that I was unAmerican if I didn't vote for them and I know they were in the White House for eight years.

    Is it possible they only won with four or five votes?

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  4. Anonymous6:55 AM

    It is so sad that President Obama has not agreed to go after Cheney and Bush...is he allowing the same thing to occur? I so hope not, but who knows in our world today.

    Cheney went to Thatcher's funeral (a horrible delegation represented our country - if you look at the attendees from the USA) - so, he can travel outside the US. I thought he and Bush would be arrested if they stepped outside of the country. Our media not giving us the correct information AGAIN, you think!

    What can we believe?

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  5. Anonymous6:56 AM

    Silly non-partisan group. Don't know that the only people who can "find" that the Bush administration is guilty of torture is Dick Cheney?

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  6. Cracklin Charlie7:10 AM

    Thank you, Gryphen, for placing the blame on the correct villain. The Bush Administration, and the Republicans, deserve to be, and are the objects of worldwide derision, thanks to their participation in this fiasco.

    But, in 3, 2, 1..., all the talking heads, and others will turn this information into an attack on President Obama, for not prosecuting the offenders.

    I just wish people would understand the position that the President found himself in after his inauguration. If he had even suggested that he was going to prosecute the Bush administration for any of their crimes, his presidency would have been effectively over. Had he done that, there would have been no end to the Republican obstruction, and we would have had to listen to George W Bush being made into some kind of hero all over again. Please also remember, that at that time, the US economy was in virtual free fall, with tens of thousands of people losing their jobs, and homes, thanks to the theft of mortgages, and retirement accounts. President Obama moved into the White House in January, 2009, and the only thing left in the fridge was a big plate of shit sandwiches.

    And this President sat down at that table in the White House, and ate those sandwiches one by one, while being jeered at by his opposition, who kept piling more sandwiches on the plate.

    And where are we, four years later? The economy is growing stronger, we have a national health care system (not perfected), meaningful legislation is being debated, wars are over, or being ended; and best of all (never thought I would type this) the Republican Party is in a desperate attempt to save itself from it's own members! And to top that off, top level members of the Bush Administration, and the former president and vice president, are afraid to show their faces in public. George Bush paints pictures of himself sitting in the bathtub! A man who sits and paints pictures of himself in the tub may just be in more a prison of his own makin', than any plush white collar prison President Obama could have put him in.

    I know our President is not perfect, but sometimes I wish people would remember the things that the man HAS done for us, and not just the things that haven't gotten done yet.

    rant over

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    1. Cracklin Charlie7:10 AM

      Great rant! You should do it more often!

      Delete
    2. Anonymous8:05 AM

      Cracklin Charlie 7:10 said "Had he done that, there would have been no end to the Republican obstruction, and we would have had to listen to George W Bush being made into some kind of hero all over again."

      As Gina said, "Great Rant." But because Obama didn't hold Bush/Cheney responsible and pursue justice....not only has he lost the trust from those who expected more but, and showed that he would cover for his fellow politicians ...there's "been no end to the Republican obstruction, and we [would] have had to listen to George W Bush being made into some kind of hero all over again."

      And it's all different how? We've won how? Justice is served how?

      Yeah, call me disappointed.

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    3. I agree with Cracklin Charlie. Had the President made his presidency about prosecuting the previous administration for war crimes, that would set the pattern for all future presidencies.

      The only thing that would happen would be a current administration putting all their efforts into taking revenge/seeking justice on previous administrations not only for actual crimes but for imaginary ones.

      No actual governing would take place and the country would truly fail.

      The only thing that can prevent people like Bush/Cheney being elected is an educated, determined populace.

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  7. Anonymous7:23 AM

    Fucking Republicans? What about the fucking Democrat in office now who won't prosecute them? Who also continued many questionable policies of the former administration and expanded some including assassination by drone and domestic spying?

    What you need to recognize is that there isn't a good party and a bad party. There is an ongoing process and both parties act as enablers.

    If Obama was on the side of law and order, the previous administration would be facing a war crimes tribunal.

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    1. Obama cannot do anything about it to be honest.

      What I posted was my emotional response, but logically I know that if the President had tried to go after the criminals in the Bush administration it would have torn this country in two, and NOTHING that he accomplished would have taken place.

      Yes it burns my ass that Cheney and Bush still walk free, but I take some solace in the fact that they helped destroy a once powerful political party.

      I don't see a Republican returning to the White House anytime soon.

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    2. Leland8:00 AM

      See the above comment by Cracklin Charlie.

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    3. Anonymous12:09 PM

      And Barry's current agenda isn't "tearing the country in two"?

      Did you really write that? Are you a complete moron?

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    4. Anonymous12:09 PM

      "Barry's"

      EEEKKKKK! There's a "birther" in here y'all! QUICK...somebody step on it like the nasty ass cockroach that it is!

      LOL!!!

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  8. SHARON7:45 AM

    I have to agree more with Charlie....this poor man has been on a suicide mission for almost 5 years now. What Obama accomplished amid all this bullshit in 4 years is nothing less than a miracle...he had to make priorities. Saving the economy or persecuting Bush...what a ridiculous choice to be forced to make. You think the GOP is bad now...can you imagine what they would have been like if Obama went after Bush? There was our military to consider still fighting 2 wars, it would have been a disaster. I am confused as to Cheney leaving the country though....I really thought the Hague would have nailed him, esp him. The world knows he was the "brains" behind all the torture, Bush was just his puppet. I truly hope we see both their karmas revealed during our lifetime.

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  9. Remember when Ford pardoned Nixon after Nixon resigned? Ronald Reagan's presidency was marked by multiple scandals, including Iran/Contra. And the list could go on, and on, and on... Clinton got caught with his pants down and was impeached. Different outcomes for inside vs outside the US crimes it would seem. I think no one prosecutes things like war crimes because they believe that the trials and possible incarcerations would be much worse for our image than the hints of conspiracy and criminal behavior heard now.

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  10. Anonymous8:12 AM

    If President Obama put Cheney and Bush on trial, he'd have to join them. I really think 'Zero Dark Thirty' was more a documentary than a work of fiction.
    Torture is how they found numerous terrorist and Osama Bin Laden.

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  11. Anonymous8:25 AM

    President Obama IS part of the problem, Gryphen. He announced right off the bat that he was looking forward and not back, essentially and knowingly letting every crime the Bush administration committed slide. Eric Holder would no more investigate his boss's predecessor than sprout wings and fly to the moon. He would rather spend his time going after Democrats and whistleblowers.

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  12. Anonymous8:25 AM

    I wonder if Mr. Obama could prosecute them now. If Asa Hutchinson is willing to say that Bush ordered torture and it has sullied America's reputation, there might be a political window now to prosecute. I would be perfectly willing to send them to the Hague where the proceedings would drag on for years, rather than send them to trial here. At least we, as a country, would have done something to repudiate the use of torture.

    Elizabeth 44

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  13. Leland8:40 AM

    Let's look at this realistically. The question of Chaney NOT being arrested outside the US, that is.

    By whom? The World Criminal Court? Nice try. We don't recognize it officially. Oh we SIGNED it, but we have yet to ratify it, so we don't recognize it as having power over US citizens. Therefore the entire power of the US government would be brought to bear against anyone even considering bringing an indictment, let alone arrest them. And to my knowledge, there has been no summons by them, let alone an arrest warrant.

    If you know of any, I would like to hear about them.

    SHOULD we ratify it? Not germane to the discussion.

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    1. Leland9:03 AM

      Okay. Further research has made me recognize that an indictment has been made against B&C (and others) by the Kuala Lumpur Tribunal.

      But has it gone further than that? I know that tribunal forwarded their findings and indictment, but has the ICC actually ACTED upon that recommendation or are they taking it under advisement.

      And that STILL doesn't eliminate my doubts about the US not ratifying it and therefore not recognizing it.

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    2. Anonymous3:49 PM

      Leland wrote: By whom? The World Criminal Court? Nice try. We don't recognize it officially. Oh we SIGNED it, but we have yet to ratify it, so we don't recognize it as having power over US citizens

      Maybe they could take a page from the Cheney/Bush playbook and practice a little rendition. When they venture outside (or take them from inside) the US and haul them off to the World Court. Yeah, I know... but the thought sure is satisfying -- and the karma of it all would be delicious to watch.

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  14. Anonymous9:11 AM

    We still have prisoners in Guantanamo, we still engage in extraordinary rendition and circumvent international law and American due process by having "secret" detainment locations in Eastern Europe and elsewhere. Much of this happened anew under the current administration and some has just been a continuation of the prior administration's "War on Terror".

    Obama simply cannot hold the prior administration accountable as he would be judging himself and his own administration as well, and what, are we going to have an "emergency half term presidential election" once we had to clear house of the current admin?

    America has been engaging in some heinous shit for the last 12 years, nonstop, through the course of two presidential administrations. We like to point the finger at China and other countries for engaging in "human rights" violations when we are just as guilty.

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  15. Anonymous9:57 AM

    I have to say that the majority of us (I'm a senior) were brought up to think America the best country in the world. How ignorant Americans really were and are still today. We've been wearing rose colored glasses for a long time!

    We've been torturing for years just like the other countries. We are NOT any better than anyone else!

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