The Tortura De Bush and the Administration’s Taste for Khmer-Style Waterboarding
Published 1, February 27, 2008
JONATHAN TURLEY
The company we keep
Even our closest allies, such as Britain, have stated the obvious: The United States is now an official member of torture-practicing nations. We share this distinction with such kindred spirits as North Korea, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Burma. It has been disclosed that both Democratic and Republican members of Congress have known for years about the torture program. Current and former officials have confirmed the use of waterboarding. One of the CIA’s interrogators, John Kiriakou, publicly discussed the use of waterboarding on detainees and agreed that it was torture.A Tortured Defense;
The guessing game is over. We know the U.S. government OK’d and utilized waterboarding. So what — if anything — are we going to do about it? ......................
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For months, both parties hid behind the rationalization that the torture program remained a mere allegation to avoid the looming criminal question. Indeed,
Attorney General Michael Mukasey refused to recognize that waterboarding has been declared as torture by both domestic and international courts — noting that it would be speculative. After Democrats rescued his nomination from imminent failure over the torture question, Mukasey simply refused to answer the question even after the torture program was confirmed.
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As Bradbury’s testimony and various reports indicate, the Bush administration opted for the standard variation of the tortura del agua of putting a cloth or a piece of plastic over the face of the victim while pouring water over his face. It achieves the same sensation of drowning and the inability to breathe. This technique was used by governments such as Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot.
Perhaps there will be some who might be offended that we are importing torture techniques rather than producing our own “made in America” style. But there is one unique element to American waterboarding: Our legal system denies the president the power to order criminal acts..............................
Jonathan Turley, the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, is a member of USA TODAY’s board of contributors.
USA TODAY: February 27, 2008
more at:
http://jonathanturley.org/2008/02/27/the-tortura-de-bush-and-the-administrations-taste-for-khmer-style-waterboarding/
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