therawstory
Cheney admits authorizing detainee’s torture
David Edwards and Stephen C. Webster
Outgoing VP says Guantanamo prison should stay open until end of terror war, but has no idea when that might be.
Monday, outgoing Vice President Dick Cheney made a startling statement on a nation-wide, televised broadcast.
When asked by ABC News reporter Jonathan Karl whether he approved of interrogation tactics used against a so-called “high value prisoner” at the controversial Guantanamo Bay prison, Mr. Cheney, in a break from his history of being press-shy, admitted to giving official sanctioning of torture.
“I supported it,” he said regarding the practice known as “water-boarding,” a form of simulated drowning. After World War II, Japanese soldiers were tried and convicted of war crimes in US courts for water-boarding, a practice which the outgoing Bush administration attempted to enshrine in policy.
“I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared, as the agency in effect came in and wanted to know what they could and couldn’t do,” Cheney said. “And they talked to me, as well as others, to explain what they wanted to do. And I supported it.”
He added: “It’s been a remarkably successful effort, and I think the results speak for themselves.”
ABC asked him if in hindsight he thought the tactics went too far. “I don’t,” he said.
The prisoner in question, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who the Bush administration alleges to have planned the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, is one of Guantanamo’s “high value targets” thus far charged with war crimes.
Former military interrogator Travis Hall disagrees with Cheney’s position.
“Proponents of Guantanamo underestimate what a powerful a propaganda tool Guantanamo has become for terrorist groups such as Al Qaeda, despite several Department of Defense studies documenting the propaganda value of detention centers,” he said in a column for Opposing Views.
“For example, West Point’s Combating Terrorism Center has monitored numerous Al Qaeda references to Guantanamo in its recruitment propaganda materials,” continued Hall. “Improvements to Guantanamo’s administration of judicial mechanisms will not make its way into Al Qaeda propaganda. Nothing short of closing Guantanamo will remove this arrow from its quiver.”
President-elect Barack Obama has promised to close the prison and pull US forces out of Iraq. Cheney, however, has a different timeline for when Guantanamo Bay prison may be “responsibly” retired.
“Well, I think that that would come with the end of the war on terror,” he told ABC.
Problematic to his assertion: Mr. Bush’s “war on terror” is undefinable and unending by it’s very nature, and Cheney seems to recognize this as fact.
Asked when his administration’s terror war will end, he jostled, “Well, nobody knows. Nobody can specify that.”
(Source)
Mikael, here is an example of a personal attac…Ahem:
“Dennis M. McCullough is a mentally challenged individual who repeatedly was arrested for harassment and disorderly conduct in the mid-90’s.”
Oh, wait a minute…is real and documented truth a personal attack, or just statement of fact? “A” is “A”, is it not?
[Ed. Note: Do you have a comment to pose on this thread? Do you have anything to contribute to the discussion?]
Sorry Mikael, but there was no “personal line of attack”. The only personal name I mentioned was Andrew and I was hoping for a theological reply on the “God’s fiery judgment” questioned I posed.
The real problem is that you can’t comeback with a snappy retort to the truth.
Everytime that happens, you censor.
This time was no exception.
[Not true at all, Chubster. You can’t seem to find it in yourself to simply debate the facts. For whatever reason you cannot resist personalizing it. Talk about the subject at hand directly and your posts will remain. Attack individuals on this forum and your posts will be deleted. The same rules apply to everyone. You are the only one that seems to have a consistent problem with that.]
[Try a rewrite without the personal line of attack and we will consider allowing it to be posted.]
Cheney can confess let Flight 77 hit the Pentagon,,,,,,Then he resigns,,,,,,and Cheney is impeached,like were do we need a liar and the corruption?
impeach!