Under a big picture of a smirking Dick Cheney in yesterday's New York Times, the Editorial Board called for prosecution -- or at least investigation -- of individuals up and down the chain of torturers. See here
The Editorial makes the point that nobody can deny that the things that the CIA did to its prisoners in the aftermath of 9-11 was torture, under both federal law and an international treaty (ratified by the U.S. in 1994) banning torture. It reminds us of the 26 prisoners who were, it turns out, wrongfully held, and therefore presumably doubly wrongfully tortured. It reminds us of the one that died of hypothermia while chained naked to a concrete floor. It reminds us of all the degrading acts our representatives visited upon their helpless captives, all in the name of protecting our security. It sounds like the sort of stuff that we learn when we read up on Queen Elizabeth I's secret service, or the Spanish Inquisition, or, more recently, the Nazis. I used to shudder when I read accounts like that, but ultimately comforted myself in saying that these were acts committed by barbarians, and those willing to commit crimes against humanity, and that that's not going to happen in the U.S.
But it sounds like we haven't really gotten any better.
And the New York Times is not particularly optimistic about anyone ever being prosecuted, even though we either know, or could easily find out, just about everyone's role.
That's it for now. Really problematic how hypocritical "we" can be at times.
The Editorial makes the point that nobody can deny that the things that the CIA did to its prisoners in the aftermath of 9-11 was torture, under both federal law and an international treaty (ratified by the U.S. in 1994) banning torture. It reminds us of the 26 prisoners who were, it turns out, wrongfully held, and therefore presumably doubly wrongfully tortured. It reminds us of the one that died of hypothermia while chained naked to a concrete floor. It reminds us of all the degrading acts our representatives visited upon their helpless captives, all in the name of protecting our security. It sounds like the sort of stuff that we learn when we read up on Queen Elizabeth I's secret service, or the Spanish Inquisition, or, more recently, the Nazis. I used to shudder when I read accounts like that, but ultimately comforted myself in saying that these were acts committed by barbarians, and those willing to commit crimes against humanity, and that that's not going to happen in the U.S.
But it sounds like we haven't really gotten any better.
And the New York Times is not particularly optimistic about anyone ever being prosecuted, even though we either know, or could easily find out, just about everyone's role.
That's it for now. Really problematic how hypocritical "we" can be at times.
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