Ain’t it the truth.

lottakatz,

Re: “Dan Ellsberg/Joe Wilson, Dan Elsberg/Joe Wilson, a B&E and it’s cover-up to further political ends could bring down a President but now treason to further political ends can’t. What a difference a generation or two can make.”

In spite of the apparent impediments, one never knows when some “twist of fate” may alter the course of history and bring those who are clearly involved in treasonous activities to their knees. It’s happened before…

http://psychoanalystsopposewar.org/blog/category/mental-health/psychology/apa/

I also recall that the American Psychiatric Association was talking about expelling members who participated in devising torture techniques or in cooperating in the torture program and revoking their medical licenses, but I don’t know the outcome of that discussion either.

I hope the Grand Jury has some success in shining a light on the war crimes of the Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld,et.al. regime. Obama and his timid Justice Department certainly have no guts and no integrity when it comes to prosecuting these war crimes.

Obama has traded his unearned Nobel Peace Prize for the gold key to the “Old Boys Club”.

Dan Ellsberg/Joe Wilson, Dan Elsberg/Joe Wilson, a B&E and it’s cover-up to further political ends could bring down a President but now treason to further political ends can’t. What a difference a generation or two can make.

And Happy Father’s Day to all of you “dads” out there…

Let us hope this is just the beginning (or continuation) of many sleepless nights for the persons (no matter how far up the chain of command) who were responsible for bringing this blight upon our country. Justice (and a fat stack of subpoenas) may yet be served.

Mark Reneau,

I’m with you… in hoping… “Justice (and a fat stack of subpoenas)” sounds mighty good…

Maybe something unexpected will occur in the course of the investigation and we’ll see a domino effect that will eventually get to Bush and Cheney. You can’t blame a gal for hopin’…

An interesting interview with one of Jessen’s colleagues:

http://www.truth-out.org/cia-psychologists-notes-reveal-bushs-torture-program68542

http://boingboing.net/2011/04/25/creepy-handwritten-n.html

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Lottakatz wrote:

“I sincerely hope it doesn’t end with some low-level stooge.”

“It is though troubling that by prosecuting persons that may have gone beyond the torture program guidelines, such judicial action reinforces the notion that there is a legally acceptable level of torture. ”

Lottakatz,

I’d like to believe that when the full extent of the Bush-Cheney “torture program” is known, higher level heads will roll, but a rather large subset of Americans would seem to have a pretty high tolerance level when it comes to “torturing” other human beings, so it’s impossible to predict where this current investigation might (or might not) lead. And as you rightly say, there is “no acceptable level of torture”, legal or otherwise, but some seem to be able to make what I find to be ludicrous distinctions…

“The Most Dangerous Man in America” was streamed live on PBS the other night. If you haven’t yet seen it, I highly recommend it. We need another Ellsberg, we need something resembling another Watergate…

Anon nurse: “If Mitchell and Jessen are indeed targets, that could well explain the near panic of the torture defenders when they refer to the Durham investigation.”
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I too recall that hue and cry among the apologist’s and I hope it signified a real effort to bring some measure of justice to people involved at all levels of this deplorable policy. It is though troubling that by prosecuting persons that may have gone beyond the torture program guidelines, such judicial action reinforces the notion that there is a legally acceptable level of torture. That’s not the case in my book, and turns this action into just a fancy, labor intensive cover-up.

Torture Accountability After All?

Wednesday 15 June 2011
by: Stephen Soldz, Truthout

http://www.truth-out.org/torture-accountability-after-all/1308146637

Excerpt:

Thus, this investigation may be the beginning of a broader investigation of “CIA officers and contract employees.” One wonders if the CIA’s torture psychologist contractors James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen may be among Durham’s targets. This seems plausible since – based on later torture memos – their waterboarding and other “enhanced interrogation” tactics went well beyond those authorized at the time in their intensity and longevity, providing potential liability under Durham’s mandate.

If Mitchell and Jessen are indeed targets, that could well explain the near panic of the torture defenders when they refer to the Durham investigation. These former officials and their apologists may be worried that an investigation into the actions of Mitchell and Jessen will go higher up the chain of command. Reportedly, everything done in the secret CIA prisons was approved in Washington, sometimes even in the White House. And, as Watergate demonstrated, investigations, once started, can sometimes climb the command chain to the very top. (end of excerpt)