Helen Thomas: US Torture Tactics Shame Us All

[babylonsister]

US Torture Tactics Shame Us All
by Helen Thomas

Thank goodness for whistle-blowers, those public servants who think Americans should know the harm that is being inflicted in our name.

Some of those high-minded officials recently revealed to The New York Times that the Bush administration has abandoned its 2004 legal opinion that torture is “abhorrent” and instead has resumed “brutal interrogations.”

The Times said two subsequent Justice Department legal opinions — implemented by then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales — gave the go-ahead for interrogators to resort to physical and psychological tactics that inflict pain.

The authorization endorsed use of the harshest techniques applied by the CIA, including head slapping, “waterboarding” that simulates drowning, holding detainees in frigid temperatures, manacling prisoners in stress positions for hours, sleep deprivation for days and nights and subjecting them to long hours of thundering rock music.

White House and Justice Department officials insist the opinions do not conflict with the administration’s promise not to torture suspects. But the memos have never been released.

The Times said this was the first time in U.S. history that the federal government authorized such tactics.

more...

http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/10/12/4494/

[babylonsister]

1. .

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

2. Awww, those whistleblowers, and Helen Thomas, are just "Attention Whores". K&R

Like Cindy Sheehan and Code Pink and Daniel Ellsberg.