WA. POST: Justice Dept. Memo Says Torture 'May be Justified'

[BeyondGeography]

By Dana Priest
Sunday, June 13, 2004; 6:30 PM


Today washingtonpost.com is posting a copy of the Aug. 1, 2002, memorandum "Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340-2340A," from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for Alberto R. Gonzales, counsel to President Bush.


The memo was the focus of a recent article in The Washington Post.

The memo was written at the request of the CIA. The CIA wanted authority to conduct more aggressive interrogations than were permitted prior to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. The interrogations were of suspected al Qaeda members whom the CIA had apprehended outside the United States. The CIA asked the White House for legal guidance. The White House asked Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel for its legal opinion on the standards of conduct under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane and Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The Office of Legal Counsel is the federal government's ultimate legal adviser. The most significant and sensitive topics that the federal government considers are often given to the OLC for review. In this case, the memorandum was signed by Jay S. Bybee, the head of the office at the time. Bybee's signature gives the document additional authority, making it akin to a binding legal opinion on government policy on interrogations. Bybee has since become a judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38894-2004Jun13.html

Here's the complete memo:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/documents/dojinterrogationmemo20020801.pdf

[proud patriot]

1. Story still alive ...GOOD

:D

[lovedems]

2. As I see it, the White House cannot escape involvement here.

If the CIA asked the White House and the White House in turn asks OLC then I am sure the White House answered the CIA based on what the OLC said.

This shows pretty direct involvement by the WH and not just a handful of out of control troops.

Based on the pre-war intelligence, I am sure there was some pressure to interpret the law as loosely as possible.

[wtmusic]

3. Can't open the .pdf

Anyone else having problems?

[ashling]

7. Having some problems reading it

finally loaded, but the text keeps stammering

[salib]

4. Did anyone actually read the memo?

It is trying to claim that the Geneva Convention barring torture, only refers to "torture", and then tries to justify almost everything short of severe physical damanage or deadly actions as being less than torture and so allowed.

[janx]

6. Well that's not going to do much good--

since severe physical damage and deadly actions were indeed part of the mix.

[BeyondGeography]

9. The memo says cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment

do not rise to the level of torture if it does not involve physical pain.

"A wide range of such techniques are tolerated," according to the memo.

[wtmusic]

11. Doesn't matter--G3 explicitly forbids any form of coercion

They are 100% full of shit.

Article 17:

"No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind."

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm

[goforit]

5. Well great!! .Now Ashcroft &kin can be tortured too! It's leagal

There's nothing like karma!!!

[boobooday]

8. That should comfort you.

Did you hear Bush say that? "We followed the law, that should comfort you."

There is nothing more infuriating than a self-righteous idiot acting condescending.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[DaveSZ]

10. I'm trying to figure out

I'm trying to figure out if this is the same torture memo that Ashcroft refused to release to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Anyone know?

"At a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, senators asked Attorney General John D. Ashcroft to release both memos. Ashcroft said he would not discuss the contents of the Justice and Pentagon memos or turn them over to the committees. A transcript of that hearing is also available."


I assume both memos are now in the hands of the press.

[struggle4progress]

12. There's a bunch of these memos: perhaps ten or more.

NYT summarized what's known a few days ago

[WillyT]

13. Check Out Page 46 Of The Memo !!!

Signed by then Asst. Attorney General Jay S. Bybee

Who apparently was\is a Federalist Society thug!

Link: http://www.evite.com/pages/invite/viewInvite.jsp?event=VVWWBDMMAFTNZIPFXYZP&inviteId=OYXDQGREIFWEGVMCJWOP&showPreview=false&x=320164165

At least he was invited to address that pit of snakes, several times!

:grr::nuke::mad:

[diamond14]

14. CIA drops the BIG one on bush* and his minions....

"The memo was written at the request of the CIA."

Totally awesome. Asscroft defies OUR Congress on Tuesday, last week...by the weekend...CIA has given a whole lot of info to the Washington Post, including the memos that asscroft refused to allow congress to see, even in private....

plus, some real ghastly torture pictures are newly shown in the WP, NYT and other papers all across America....


bush* and his cabal are SO CORRUPT that they are collapsing of their own weight...