Bush Advisor Says President Has Legal Power to Torture Children

[0007]

By Philip Watts

01/08/06 "revcom.us" -- -- John Yoo publicly argued there is no law that could prevent the President from ordering the torture of a child of a suspect in custody – including by crushing that child’s testicles.

This came out in response to a question in a December 1st debate in Chicago with Notre Dame professor and international human rights scholar Doug Cassel.

What is particularly chilling and revealing about this is that John Yoo was a key architect post-9/11 Bush Administration legal policy. As a deputy assistant to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, John Yoo authored a number of legal memos arguing for unlimited presidential powers to order torture of captive suspects, and to declare war anytime, any where, and on anyone the President deemed a threat.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11488.htm

[greiner3]

1. That is so sick, words fail me... n/t

[Double T]

2. What's next? The President has the legal power to torture domestic pets?

We've got a serious problem and it is living in the WH.

[TerdlowSmedley]

14. Well, we know that he blew up frogs. His mother thought it was clever.

[celestia671]

3. Evil

plain and simple. These monsters need to be hauled out of the White House in shackles!:mad:

[darkism]

4. Totally effing sick.

I had closed my browser and caught a glimpse of this thread's title before I closed it.

I said aloud "that couldn't have POSSIBLY said CHILDREN. It must have been "captives." I'll reopen and check."

Seriously, WTF is with these people?

[0007]

16. 'Tis very sick. I don't get it! Aren't we creating more hatred

and terrorist by this type of action?

[bliss_eternal]

5. Why not? He's been torturing all of us since 2000.

:shrug:

Is there no atrocity they will not embrace? They should write a book, "Nazism for Dummies 2006."

[MrMonk]

6. Your link is dead

I'd like to see the article before commenting.

[shraby]

10. Here is the correct link...got it off dailykos

<http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11488.htm>

[0007]

11. Try this...... it was working

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article11488.htm

[MrMonk]

13. Yoo is quoted as saying it.

Cassel: If the president deems that he's got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person's child, there is no law that can stop him?

Yoo: No treaty

Cassel: Also no law by Congress -- that is what you wrote in the August 2002 memo...

Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.


If you follow the links, you'll wind up at a page offering audio links, but the audio links appear to be broken. On edit: the link to the quote is working, but the link to the longer excerpt leads nowhere.

Yoo should be called to account for such a statement. Since he apparently was responding to a spur-of-the-moment hypo, I'd allow him a chance to defend himself.

More discussion here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x2357058

[zbird]

15. The link in the press release works for the longer excerpt.

http://rwor.org/johnyoo/index.html

[MrMonk]

17. It sounds as if Yoo tries to partially back off his 2002 claim

that the President is not bound by law, but won't say the conditions under which the President could or couldn't override a law. So, his qualification amounts to nothing.

[stepnw1f]

7. Sick Fascist Bastards...

Impeachment and then try them all for war crimes.

[roguevalley]

8. should be front page on every paper in america. what scares me

is that they probably already have done this. Yoo is not American, human or worthy of air.

[mzmolly]

9. Has the President ordered the torture of anyone? Let alone children.

My guess is yes, but we should explore this further perhaps?

PS the link appears broken?

[OneTwentyoNine]

21. Yeah,he "orders" Congress to NEVER vote for a minimum wage increase..

So those people who work at Walmart can never afford quality--if any health care for themselves or their children. Thats FUCKING torture in my book!!

FUCK YOU BUSH!!

[David Dunham]

12. F-ck Yoo, and I really mean it.

[robbedvoter]

18. geez, and i thout only a few bad apples did Abu Grahib! Turns out

it was W all along! Why so modest then?

[0007]

19. bbtft

[OneTwentyoNine]

20. All in the name of "terra" of course....

I'm sure the flaming idiot Freeper crowd won't have a problem with this either,they don't care if Bush taps everyone's phone lines.