Memo Signed By Bush, AUTHORIZING TORTURE, Surfaces

[shraby]

So, last year I had breakfast with former Reagan Adm. official George E. Lowe and he described to me how the implementation of the Bush Administration torture policy probably went down.

As it turns out, Lowe's call was highly accurate and about an hour ago George Lowe called to tell me that a memo, part of the process which had probably set the whole Bush Administration torture regime in motion, is publicly available. How about that.
Ray McGovern has pointed the way to an NSC action memo, signed by George W. Bush himself, which initiated the process under which an entire torture regime, which used methods that violate not only the Geneva Conventions but also US anti-torture laws signed by Bill Cinton, came to be.

(Much much more)
<http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/4/10/95033/2181/104/493151>

[seemslikeadream]

1. Is it impeachment yet?

[shraby]

2. It certainly should be!

[SpiralHawk]

21. Indeed

[DJ13]

3. Not until we can prove he got a BJ

Sorry, thems the rulez.

[leftyclimber]

9. I didn't used to think I could do it

but at this point I'm ready to take one for the team. :puke:

I will need lots of Clorox to gargle with afterwards. Can anyone assist?

-lefty

[muffin1]

13. I offered the same

a few months ago. Someone DID say they would hold my hair back for me. Seriously, we'll impeach someone for a blow job, but not for getting us into a war using LIES?? Katrina... who gives a fuck? Warrantless wiretaps...oh well! Torture...who cares? The list goes on, and fucking on. Come on, Georgie boy, I'll blow you like you've never been blown...as long as you will be impeached afterward.

[Vilis Veritas]

41. Gannon probably beat you to it...

We need to think outside the box.

I wonder if to catching Bush on film shoving a crucifix up his ass whilst Cheney and Condi dressed in rubber flog his nipple-clamped chest...

I could loan the cause some riding crops...:evilgrin:

[Parche]

50. Talk About Torture For The Giver of That BJ

:scared: :scared:
:hi: :rofl:

[FourScore]

16. I LOVE this picture, seemslikeadream!!!

:hi:

[seemslikeadream]

18. Thanks whereismyparty

[Nostradammit]

44. Me too

The chemtrails are a nice touch.

[SammyWinstonJack]

28. OFF THE TABLE!

x(

[Solly Mack]

4. Slate.com has had that memo up for a while now. Since 2005

What is Torture

[jjr5]

37. Where is everybody??

HEELOOOO!!!Time to start impeachment proceedings! Impeachment doesn't have to be a long, drawn out process. It can actually be as short as a month. Plus, Nancy Pelosi would be in power AND we would look like the stronger party. It doesn't matter if Nancy Pelosi wouldn't be elected to that position - that's not the precedence we should be worried about. The precedence that is of worry is that of torture and all of the other atrocities the Bush Admin. has carried out.

[SalmonChantedEvening]

5. George, it's The Hague on line 4. Your room is ready.

Come for a visit.

[Kindigger]

45. Nope. He took care of that also.

As corroborating evidence, Bush's August 3, 2003 signing of the "Hague Invasion Law" which asserted a US right top use military force to liberate Americans held by the International Criminal Court at the Hague indicate Mr. Bush was aware of the possibility that Americans might be charged with crimes under international law. Bush's signing of the law was part of a broader attack against the new war crimes court at the Hague, by the United States, which was underway at the time Bush signed the August 2003 legislation.:cry: :rofl: :banghead: :puke:

[spanone]

6. it sickens me. this bu$h* is gonna walk away from this clusterfuck

the surge was a brilliant move to keep us in iraq till they are out of office

the democratic congress shames me for not impeaching this sob

[EFerrari]

7. Our government is criminally out of control. n/t

[karab]

8. too bad

Too bad we'll have to wait until January for the War Crimes trials to begin.

[tbyg52]

12. Well, at least he won't be able to pardon anyone then.

Of course, that's assuming he (or a surrogate) is not still in office due to another stolen election, a convenient terrorist attack, etc.

Hi, karab! Welcome to DU! :hi:

[guyanakoolaid]

46. Will Pelosi have grown a conscience in that time? Unlikely. We need to knock her off of her perch.

What legal means are available to do this, bar voting her out of office? What steps would have to be taken to install a Speaker to whom rules and laws matter?

[dave123williams]

10. Impeachment? I'll settle for trial in Federal Court. Criminal trial.

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/18/usc_sec_18_00002340---A000-.html

As it turns out, ordering people to be tortured is a serious federal crime, under American law:

§ 2340A. Torture

(a) Offense.— Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.
(b) Jurisdiction.— There is jurisdiction over the activity prohibited in subsection (a) if—
(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or
(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.
(c) Conspiracy.— A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.

And no, lurking conservative morons....it doesn't matter if you do the torture outside the US, or not. Or whom you torture. Or for whatever reason/justification/lie you have handy. Fighting terrorism is NOT an excuse:

No need to worry about the Hague, or international law on this one.

This arrogant fuck has, in all likelihood, ordered people tortured to death.

Ergo, that makes our falsely pious smirking jackass of a President eligible for.....wait for it....the death penalty.

[calimary]

11. Works for me.

I just hope I live so long as to see it. Or even some of it. Even a little tiny bit of it.

[Trillo]

48. Thanks for the education.

1. Who is in charge of prosecuting such an illegal act? Presumably it cannot be the Department of Justice, for they seem under the Beck and Call of the Executive.

2. If the Department of Justice will not/cannot prosecute, and if "Impeachment is off the Table" is the attitude of most in Congress, instead of just Rep. Pelosi, then who shall make the arrest and enforce the law?

3. Is there any law left?

[dave123williams]

53. Here are the answers, sadly.

1. The Department of Justice.

2. Nobody, evidently.

3. You tell me.

[FourScore]

14. I posted this as well.

You posted it first, however, mine is the dupe...so please allow me to k&r your post.

This is an important one!

[SpiralHawk]

15. But...Commander AWOL Bush has lied repeatedly about this...

to the citizens of the United States of America
and the world community.

[SpiralHawk]

17. Impeach Commander AWOL & Dickie 'Five Military Deferments' for

War crimes and lies to Congress and the American people.

Now.

[mcollier]

29. We sure did leave the American

government in good hands... And the reason McCain has a shot at the Presidency is many Americans don't seem to mind who is running the country into the ditch... Foolland.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. But madame speaker refuses to follow the Constitution, hence enabling the torture regime

yep, she will belong with them on the docket, and this gives me no pleasure

[lonestarnot]

42. And since she is complicit, can she also be indicted?

[bluesmail]

20. He's gonna be Darth's Oswald

[Senator]

22. And Failure To Impeach "Authorizes" Bushcheney

Because torture and war crimes can be aided and abetted both before and AFTER the fact.

Certainly the bushcheney war criminals have earned themselves a place in infamy via moral treason against our once-great nation.

But the oxymoronic mumblings of DC Dems, as they continue to ignore the rotting elephant carcass in our national living room, are no less an enabling of the ongoing horror. And moreover, a willful abrogation of both our treaty obligations and US Constitutional demands.

Only impeachment holds out any hope to reunite the American People around our core principles.

--

[caseycoon]

23. kick & rec

[TNOE]

24. WE DO NOT TORTURE

How many times did he say that to the American people?

Shouldn't that hold the same weight as Bill Clinton saying I did not have sexual relations with that woman?

ONLY WAY MORE SERIOUS??

THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES LIED TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE ABOUT TORTURE

IMPEACHMENT NOW!

[bdamomma]

25. they all need to be sent to the Hague

what the fuck is wrong with congress??? enough with the committee hearings get them out!!!

[Jackpine Radical]

26. The great tragedy is that nobody cares.

Oh, WE care. But most people don't. It's a lot easier to just go on with your life and worry about whether your team is gonna win next weekend than it is to give any attention to this stuff. I just don't think anything will happen. They could announce that Bush has a rack in the basement of the White House where he likes to go down in the evenings and watch people being stretched and screaming, and nobody would care.

[KoKo]

27. .but maybe times are changing...

Bush's approval took another dive and folks are starting to see the chaos the Crime Family has caused in the country. Economy wrecked, jobs gone, airlines that don't function, helpless folks being tasered to death, crime wave, foreclosures, food shortages. It kind of helps folks understand what it's like to be "down" and have things going on beyond your control. Maybe...some empathy for our fellow human beings will start to emerge after the decades of "Greed is Good."

We have to hope...

[Preening Fop]

30. Our Leader, George the Ghoul.

:nuke: :hide: :nuke:

[kentuck]

31. Congress cannot investigate because...

then there would have to be a prosecution. That would divide the country. Can't have that. Wouldn't be prudent.

[hisownpetard]

32. The question isn't whether Bush is guilty or not; it's -What are the Dems gonna do about it?

[Wizard777]

33. Time to put Pelosi on notice. Begin Impeachment or be charged as an accessory after the fact.

Nancy Pelosi's tacit approval of the Bush Adminstrations war crimes can no longer be tollerated. It's time to back her into a corner and give her the choice of putting the Bush administration on trial or standing trial with them. Will not allow this to swept under a rug like good lil Nazi's.

[Peanut Butter]

34. The Repukes Laugh at us and

Point out that nothing will be done about it.

They are a sick demented portion of our society that should be exposed
whenever and however possible. They should be forced to crawl back into
the slimey gutters and be ashamed to show their faces in public.

But instead they mock us

[JJLP1580]

36. a Democratic majority?

Isn't there a Democratic majority in both the Senate and the House? How exactly are the "repukes" mocking you? If they have ground for impeachment, wouldn't the Democratic majority get that process started?

"They are a sick demented portion of our society that should be exposed whenever and however possible. They should be forced to crawl back into the slimey gutters and be ashamed to show their faces in public."

Adolf? Is that you?

[WritersBlock]

35. And this is precisely why "Three Iranian Speedboats Harrass US Ship in Persian Gulf" - more

"newsworthy" and oh-so-conveniently-timed so as to keep the sheeple focussed on Dick & George's Next Big Adventure instead of the fact that the man sitting in the Oval Office signed off on TORTURE.

[JJLP1580]

38. Hmmm...

You don't think there's any credibility to that story? Who are "sheeple"?

[WritersBlock]

49. Actually, no; I do not. I think its timing is extraordinarily suspect.

In answer to your second question, remember the chants of "Four More Years" -- the ones that had such a similar rhythm to "Two Legs Bad, Four Legs Good" ?

Welcome to DU :)

[JJLP1580]

51. Thanks for the welcome...

And I understand what you're saying...that quote is from Animal Farm, right?

I understand not wanting to be fooled by lies...but haven't we seen terrorist attacks that have been planned according to political elections, like in Madrid? The terrorists know what they're doing. They commit crimes right before elections to try and sway voters. It's worked before.

If you don't believe anything the administration says, because you think that they lack credibility, well, I can't argue much with you on that front. But I think it may be unwise to think false every bit of news involving threats to our nation.

There ARE people out there that wish to destroy our country and its people...we shouldn't throw the baby out with the bathwater, ya know?

[katty]

39. No Surprise w/him--he's the Decider and the Torturer

[peacetalksforall]

40. It's true. If you get inside the brain of some people setting a priority or

condoning acts - some place private sex acts and their condemnation above and more serious than condemning killing, torturing, maiming, ruining familes, ruining livlihoods, making children parentless, creating exiles, pillaging, plundering, lying for profit and ynaking people off the street and subjecting them to extreme torment for the purpose of fishing for information. They also place private sex condemnation over breaking treaties and tossing agreements and the rewriting of the constitution by corporations. Shall we add controlling the news and investigations?.

And we have elected leaders who facilitate it. Ad lobbyists who set it all up.

That's democracy in this country. That's not haveing your head on straight so your brain gets reversed.

[eppur_se_muova]

43. Chairman Conyers, isn't THIS what you've been waiting for? The "Smoking Gun"?

And Madame Speaker -- set the table.

[Herman74]

47. Yes, Impeachment is the best, but they're not going to do it. So...

can't the Congressional Democrats at least CENSURE BUSH??? For Chrissakes!!!! Someone should ask Senator Diane Feinstein about censuring Bush. After all, she (and others) censured Bill Clinton for nothing!!

What I can only dream of would be: Impeachment, Indictment (at the International Court of Justice as well as U.S. courts), Incarceration (at where else but Guantanamo)

[spanone]

52. i wonder what goes thru nancy pelosi's mind when she reads this

she has enabled this by her non-action imho