THE official in charge of the military commission process at Guantanamo Bay has become the first senior Bush Administration figure to publicly admit that a detainee was tortured.
Judge Susan Crawford, who was in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees — beginning with Australian David Hicks — to trial, has concluded that the US military tortured a Saudi Arabian who allegedly planned to take part in the September 11, 2001, attacks.
--The Age cited in article by SilentPatriot at Crooks and Liars
This came out in an interview Bob Woodward had with Judge Crawford. It is good to see such revelations / confirmations coming out just as Bush leaves office, lest some folks forget the great evils he has perpetrated.
Mcjoan, who has followed the torture issue for a long time and often been a main source of information for me, notes that "a former military prosecutor filed a declaration in federal court yesterday in support of a petition on behalf of one of the Gitmo detainees who was just a teenager when first captured and held."
The whole sorry history of torture by the United States is incredibly tragic. It has tainted all testimony and consequent trials, trashed our international reputation, and pretty much done sod-all for security - Richard Bruce Cheney's allegations to the contrary notwithstanding. It is a grave moral failure.
Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) has indicated that although Obama may not be in a position to prosecute the crimes of the Bush regime, "...I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility." (Think Progress, cited by markthshark at Daily Kos)
We shall see what eventuates. In the meantime, if you can support Congress to hold Bush accountable, please do so.
One last time, because the thought, however vain, never ceased to delight me:
--the BB
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