Waterboarding
A Senate intelligence report says Dick Cheney and Condoleezza Rice both authorized the CIA’s use of waterboarding and other “alternative interrogation methods”. According to CNN, “On July 17, 2002, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice, who later became secretary of state, said the CIA could proceed with “alternative interrogation methods,” including waterboarding, when questioning suspected al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah.”
Furthermore in 2003, the CIA wanted confirmation they were acting legally, “In a meeting that included Vice President Dick Cheney, CIA Director George Tenet, Ashcroft, Rice and their legal counsels, “the principals reaffirmed that the CIA program was lawful and reflected administration policy,” the report said.
If you have not had a chance to read the torture memos, you should. They are highly disturbing. Any reasonable person can deduce that the techniques used were indeed torture. Even President Obama has declared waterboarding torture, which according to the memos was used over 200 times on one suspect.
It would be doing this country a disservice to let Rice, Cheney and others get away with war crimes. It is time to prosecute these citizens and to let a jury decide their guilt or innocence. If we do not prosecute them for torture, then we are no better than our enemies. We would set a dangerous presidence that some people are above the law. We will send a message to the world that we know our leadership committed crimes, but we are going to let it slide. How could we ever have any moral authority on human rights again if we let them get away with it? We could not.
Edit:
Event the traditional conservative talking heads are realizing the truth. Check out this video from yesterdays’ Fox News:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aEtFMj6ZiHM]
