One of the little reported details from the latest batch of Wikileaks material are cables showing that the Obama Administration worked hard behind the scenes not only to prevent any investigation of torture in the United States but shutdown efforts abroad to enforce the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture. This includes threatening the Spanish that, if they did not derail a judicial investigation, it would have serious consequences in bilateral relations. I discussed these cables on Countdown.
For two years, President Obama has worked to block the investigation of torture under the Bush Administration — even as both Dick Cheney and George Bush publicly admit to ordering waterboarding of suspects.
David Corn in Mother Jones has an interesting posting today on the issue.
A “confidential” April 17, 2009, cable sent from the US embassy in Madrid to the State Department discloses how the Administration discarded any respect for the independence of the judiciary in Spain and pressured the government to derail the prosecution of Bush officials. Human rights groups around the world had called for such enforcement in light of Obama promise that no torturers would be prosecuted and Holder’s blocking of any investigation into war crimes.
The Association for the Dignity of Spanish Prisoners had filed a demand for prosecution with Spain’s National Court to indict former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales; David Addington, former chief of staff and legal adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney; William Haynes, the Pentagon’s former general counsel; Douglas Feith, former undersecretary of defense for policy; Jay Bybee, former head of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel; and John Yoo, a former official in the Office of Legal Counsel. It had a compelled factual basis that these men ordered or facilitated war crimes — a record that has only become stronger since this confrontation.
American officials pressured government officials, including prosecutors and judges, not to enforce international law and that this was “a very serious matter for the USG.” It was Obama’s own effort at creating a “Coalition of the Unwilling” — nations unwilling to enforce treaties on torture and war crimes when the alleged culprits are American officials.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) joined the embassy’s charge d’affaires in the secret campaign to block the prosection of Judge Baltasar Garzón.
Corn notes that, during an April 14, 2009 White House briefing, he asked press secretary Robert Gibbs if the Obama administration would cooperate with any request from Spain on the investigation and prosecution. Gibbs insisted that this was nothing but “hypotheticals” and did not disclose that in fact the Obama Administration was working diligently to block the Spanish case.
Just as many conservatives abandoned their principles in following George Bush blindly, many liberals have chosen to ignore Obama’s concerted efforts to protect individuals accused of war crimes. Under our treaty obligations, the United States has the primary responsibility to prosecute torture by U.S. citizens. That responsibility rests with the Executive Branch – the prosecuting authority of the United States. What is particularly disgraceful is that Obama would refuse to fulfill this responsibility under our treaties and international law and then demand the same hypocrisy from our allies.
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http://www.democracynow.org/2010/12/3/headlines#8
State Dept. Bars Staffers from WikiLeaks, Warns Students
The U.S. State Department has imposed an order barring employees from reading the leaked WikiLeaks cables. State Department staffers have been told not to read cables because they were classified and subject to security clearances. The State Department’s WikiLeaks censorship has even been extended to university students. An email to students at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs says: “The documents released during the past few months through Wikileaks are still considered classified documents. [The State Department] recommends that you DO NOT post links to these documents nor make comments on social media sites such as Facebook or through Twitter. Engaging in these activities would call into question your ability to deal with confidential information, which is part of most positions with the federal government.”
It’s all good but one needs to build coalitions for real change to occur, and the right wing is not anti-war so I would hope one is not looking to them for support.
“But aging leftists have been off duty for a while now. So if they show up, that’s a real good start for restoring democracy in the US.” -Jill
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I agree.
Every action counts. If we do nothing the outcome is assured. Because Hedges is one of the people who recognizes the validity of right wing rage (while eschewing their hate filled rhetoric and evil solutions) I would say he has an actual chance of reaching other people than aging leftists. But aging leftist have been off duty for a while now. So if they show up, that’s a real good start for restoring democracy in the US.
Ditto to what Swarthmore mom said…
Jill: I like Chris Hedges a lot, but he is going to have to get more than middle age white leftists to go to the streets. I hope the rally attracts a very, very large number of people.
Obama is Bush on Steroids, and the American people are being played by a government both Left & Right that do not give a damn about them. They are the opposite wing of the same bird. They are all bought and sold.
Obama’s actions here are no different then when Bush basically pardoned Libby; this is obstruction of justice, and in doing this, Obama is now guilty of the same crimes. Soon he too will not be able to leave the country for fear the he will be arrested…we can only hope. The man is a joke.
There are many ways of change. Here is one: “Real Hope Is About Doing Something
By Chris Hedges
On Dec. 16 I will join Daniel Ellsberg, Medea Benjamin, Ray McGovern and several military veteran activists outside the White House to protest the futile and endless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of us will, after our rally in Lafayette Park, attempt to chain ourselves to the fence outside the White House. It is a pretty good bet we will all spend a night in jail. Hope, from now on, will look like this.
Hope is not trusting in the ultimate goodness of Barack Obama, who, like Herod of old, sold out his people. It is not having a positive attitude or pretending that happy thoughts and false optimism will make the world better. Hope is not about chanting packaged campaign slogans or trusting in the better nature of the Democratic Party. Hope does not mean that our protests will suddenly awaken the dead consciences, the atrophied souls, of the plutocrats running Halliburton, Goldman Sachs, ExxonMobil or the government….”
Article continued on stopthesewars.org
The only way I see to change things is through campaign finance reform. The main proponent of CFR, Russ Feingold, was defeated by a tea party candidate. The election has moved us further to the right. I don’t see any chance of campaign finance reform now. The tea party worships corporations. It is education that they are against. The corporations are in control. They are using the weak economy to get more control.
buckeye,
I hate to break this to you but torture is illegal according to US and International law. This was recently affirmed in Nov. by none other than the Obama administration itself. Failure to prosecute for torture is a violation of domestic and international law.
Not only did Obama interfer in Spain’s investigation, he immunized those at the CIA who engaged in torture. Additionally, he leaned on the UK to not expose our role in torture. Further, at every step Obama has denied justice to our victims of torture. You may want to keep blaming everyone else for these decisions, but at a certain point I think the accumulation of evidence rules against the idea that it’s everyone’s fault except Obama’s.
Remember also that the Obama administration has created a little slice of Bagram within Bagram for people it picks up anywhere in the world and would like to have some private rendition with no oversight. You really just can’t blame that on Bush or Republicans because that was an executive decision which the DOJ argued in a court of law.
No, it’s time to come to terms with the illegalities of the current administration and it’s time to condemn them in no uncertain terms. Better still is peaceful opposition and I invite you to join the Veterans March for Peace at the WH on Dec. 16th of this year.
I’m just wondering if a Charge de Affaires appointed by the Bush administration and accompanied by two Republican Senators actually represented the Obama administration three months into Obama’s term. Obama’s Ambassador to Spain arrived in December 2009.
From reading the cable (which at this time seem unaccessable) it seems a publicity hungry Spanish prosecutor, who was interested in making another international splash, was being reined in by another prosecutor and the Spanish Attorney General both of whom were uneasy about his insistence on prosecuting high profile persons under his determination that Spain has “international jurisdiction”. Apparently the ICC was not relevant. Sounds like more latin machismo to me. Shades of Ken Starr.
Jill,
So well said…
Bdaman
“Anon Nurse sorry for your loss. Mine died 19 years ago and old age is quickly catching up to my mother.”
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Thanks, bdaman… and I, as well, about your parents. A friend of mine (also a nurse who works primarily with the elderly) feels that 85 is a sort of “tipping point” for many… My mother has dementia and, though she misses my father, she’s in a happy place most of the time.
My father and I had our differences, especially when it came to politics, but I never doubted his love of country. With regard to our government’s use of torture, he couldn’t accept it — he was in complete denial about it. And he was so sick, that I didn’t press it. He kept saying, “No. I can’t believe it — we wouldn’t torture… ” He was too sick, and in a lot of pain — he couldn’t handle it… I just let it go.
culhealth,
I agree. This country is already torn apart, not by prosecutions of war criminals but by the actions of war and financial criminals. The transfer of wealth to the top 1% of our population has been staggering. By the conservative estimates of the govt. itself 15% of our population has gone without enough food this past year. The class war is devastating everyone from the middle class down. Both parties seamlessly collude in the impoverishment of the many for the enrichment of the few. The permanent state of war declared by this govt. has rendered the US a nation without law. Laws are used as weapons against anyone the oligarchy finds a threat. So the work of dismantling our nation, our Constitution, is done. There are only a few things that would put it back to right, massive non violent resistance, insistence on the restoration of the rule of law, (which most certainly would include prosecution of the powerful who violate our laws) and a return in the population for a desire/demand for justice.
Prosecution of the powerful who commit crimes shows a functioning society. The fact that we don’t see this tells you it is already lying in ruins.
Everybody like to talk about the weather.
Any idea why?
Global Warming = Global Cooling = Climate Change = Global Climate Disruption. Who New
Bdaman:
Why do you bring that up on this thread? But now that you mention it, it is cold and overcast. Any idea as to why?
I am in the South West.
Also the weather around here is all over the map, cold and wet one year, dry and cold the next. It doesnt seem to get warmer around these parts.
Any idea why?
Tear the country apart? Hmmmm. What country do we have at this point to tear apart? It seems to me that if we accept what state of affairs these allegations represent then we are living in a place that is completely different than what we suppose and the constitution on which it is premised is a deceptive ruse. Tearing the country apart may be our only means of escape.
Anybody want to talk about the weather 🙂
I’ll say it again:
There’s a lot to hide…
(Thanks for posting the Assange link, Swarthmore mom.)
Anon Nurse sorry for your loss. Mine died 19 years ago and old age is quickly catching up to my mother.
Sure is quite today on the blog. Reminds me of the novel then movie, All’s Quite on the Western Front