Who's surprised?
Everyone knew that the Bush administration engaged in torture...despite the denials. Even the administration's 'tortured logic' (no pun intended) about detainees not being prisoners of war (and therefore not subject to the Geneva Convention's restrictions on torture), and John Yoo's memo's outlining why 'enhanced interrogation techniques' didn't violate the US Constitution, US treaties, and US laws did nothing more than make a mockery of our laws and stated ideals by simply attempting to rationalized (and legalize) illegality. I think that the Bush administration's attempts to destroy all copies of Zelikow's memo is acknowledgement enough of that fact.
Let the conservative apologists begin their usual spin. Then when they're done doing that, they can again start up with their argument that President Obama is a thug.
Everyone knew that the Bush administration engaged in torture...despite the denials. Even the administration's 'tortured logic' (no pun intended) about detainees not being prisoners of war (and therefore not subject to the Geneva Convention's restrictions on torture), and John Yoo's memo's outlining why 'enhanced interrogation techniques' didn't violate the US Constitution, US treaties, and US laws did nothing more than make a mockery of our laws and stated ideals by simply attempting to rationalized (and legalize) illegality. I think that the Bush administration's attempts to destroy all copies of Zelikow's memo is acknowledgement enough of that fact.
Let the conservative apologists begin their usual spin. Then when they're done doing that, they can again start up with their argument that President Obama is a thug.
WASHINGTON -- A six-year-old memo from within the George W. Bush administration that came to light this week acknowledges that White House-approved interrogation techniques amounted to "war crimes." The memo's release has called attention to what has changed since President Barack Obama took office, but it also raises questions about what hasn't.
The Bush White House tried to destroy every copy of the memo, written by then-State Department counselor Philip Zelikow. Zelikow examined tactics like waterboarding -- which simulates drowning -- and concluded that there was no way they were legal, domestically or internationally.
We are unaware of any precedent in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, or any subsequent conflict for authorized, systematic interrogation practices similar to those in question here," Zelikow wrote.
The memo has been obtained by George Washington University's National Security Archive and Wired's Spencer Ackerman.
On his second full day in office, President Barack Obama formally disavowed torture, banning the types of techniques Zelikow had objected to so strongly in his memo.
New Bush-Era Torture Memo Released, Raises Questions About What Has Changed And What Hasn't