With President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder blocked any investigation or prosecution of those responsible for the torture program, Bush officials like Vice President Dick Cheney have been publicly celebrating the use of torture. Now, Karl Rove says that he is “proud” that the administration used torture “that broke the will of these terrorists.”
President Obama reportedly assured Bush officials before his inauguration that he would not allow anyone to be prosecuted for torture. Such a prosecution would be unpopular and the Administration has again chosen politics over principle. Assured that they will not be held accountable, Bush officials are pouring into the breach by shaping the public debate. They are misrepresenting waterboarding as legal while the Administration remains utterly silent. They know it is hard for the Administration to object that it is torture when it is protecting the very same officials from prosecution.
Rove also works to reshape history in claiming that torture succeeded in stopping terrorist attacks: “I’m proud that we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists and gave us valuable information that allowed us to foil plots such as flying airplane into Heathrow and into London, bringing down aircraft over the Pacific, flying an airplane into the tallest building in Los Angeles and other plots.”
Watching this obviously coordinated campaign on torture by Bush officials is like watching a bank robbers flashing stolen cash and buying drinks in front of a police station. The sense of utter immunity is palpable. We should be disgusted as much by the president who is protecting them as we are the president who ordered them to commit these crimes. Because of the political calculation by the Obama Administration, a war crime has become a political rallying cry.
For the story, click here.
Make your life more easy get the home loans and all you want.
Hey thanks FFLeo,
Forty years ago Bobby Darin got the message out, enjoy.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvY99BJzN-M&hl=en_US&fs=1&]
President Obama Torture & War Crime Enabler In Chief
Rom D.,
You are correct that Prof. Turley accurately described Rove’s statements in the BBC interview. Mahtso, just for a point of clarification for you:
Rove’s claims on waterboarding or any torture being successful in obtaining actionable intelligence is a lie. His claim in that interview that waterboarding is not torture is a lie. His claim that the waterboarding of the detainees was less than what our soldiers goes through in SERE training is another lie.
Other than those lies he was telling the truth.
The “clearance rate,” for BushCo war crimes, remains at a critical ZERO percent.
Fortunately as AY has taught me, there is no statue of limitations for legal proceedings to be initiated.
“We should be disgusted as much by the president who is protecting them as we are the president who ordered them to commit these crimes.” – JT
Yes I am thoroughly disgusted professor Turley. Our experiment in self government handed down by our ancestors hangs in the balance if we the people fail to restore this nation to it’s foundation, the rule of law.
mahtso 1, March 12, 2010 at 11:05 am
In this post, Professor Turley demonstrates why I find he has no credibility. The first two paragraphs of the article read:
“In a BBC interview, Karl Rove, who was known as “Bush’s brain”, said he “was proud we used techniques that broke the will of these terrorists”.
He said waterboarding, which simulates drowning, should not be considered torture.”
Professor Turley, through selective quoting, has totally misrepresented what Mr. Rove actually said.
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I think I heard that same interview, and I disagree that Rove’s statements were misrepresented. The BBC said that people refer to Rove as “Bush’s brain.” That is what the BBC said, and it’s a true statement. Rove said he is proud of using torture, specifically “water boarding,” and claims that it provided important intelligence. His statements weren’t complicated or nuanced. From my hearing, I think Prof. Turley accurately represented the interview, and thus, I think you are wrong.
———-
“Watching this obviously coordinated campaign on torture by Bush officials is like watching a bank robbers flashing stolen cash and buying drinks in front of a police station. The sense of utter immunity is palpable.”
That’s exactly my sense when I hear/see D. Cheney and Rove talk about this. Characterizing them as “bank robbers” gives them too much credit. I think they are more like grammar school bullies who know that the Teacher isn’t looking. “Na na na na na! You aren’t going to touch me! Na na, poo poo!”
———-
On the issue of Rove claiming that water boarding isn’t torture, does he want an official apology issued to the families of the Japanese military who were convicted of war crimes? There have been numerous members of the US military who have been court martialed for water boarding “the enemy” over the years. Did he push for apologies or pardons for them?
It is curious that physical courage should
be so common in the world and moral
courage so rare. ~ Mark Twain
Off topic today,but wait!!
Lehman Brothers!!!!!!!
Prof Turley said, “We should be disgusted as much by the president who is protecting them as we are the president who ordered them to commit these crimes.”
How it is not obvious to everyone that that difference between the red team and blue team is essentially the difference between the farmers and the pigs in Animal Farm. Every day it is harder and harder to tell them apart.
eniobob – Thanks for posting the Goggins story. Very sad, indeed.
And I must ask the same question again:
When will someone “leak” what’s been going on domestically? (And it continues — it hasn’t stopped.)
Does anyone think for a minute that the government is only monitoring phone conversations and e-mail? It’s much bigger, but no one, to date, seems to be willing to talk or expose it.
Rove disgusts me. Anyone who thinks that a policy of torture makes makes us a little safer is out of his or her mind.