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December 17, 2004
FBI: Torture orders came from Rummy
Following up on the Navy documents acquired this week, Joe Conason reports in Salon (Torture begins at the top) that a May, 2004 FBI memo (download pdf) obtained by the ACLU states that Donald Rumsfeld himself authorized the use of torture in interrogations in Iraq, Guantanamo, and Afghanistan. Counterterrorism and interrogation experts with the FBI voiced their objection to the use of torture as dictated by Rumsfeld and the Pentagon.
The grounds for the objections were chiefly more procedural than humanitarian -- information gathered via torture is unreliable. Especially in one case in which Guantanamo interrogators were given a deadlines by the Pentagon for attaining information from detainees.
What do you do when citing the Geneva Accords becomes about as effective an indictment of the Bush Administration as citing a Fat Burger menu. Under the exploitative cover of 9/11 and with the support of a massive right-wing propaganda machine, the administration is behaving like it has carte blanche. Yet at some point, something has to stick. If not the repeated authorization of torture, what then?
Posted By Bob Cesca | December 17, 2004 11:04 PM | DIGG ME!
Comments
This isnt on the substance, rather, your sources.
I let it go the time you said Scarb killed his intern and the link was a website that cited no sources.
I clicked your link, had to hit another one, then watch a CNN ad before getting to the story, which had NO memo, and was basicly 3rd person hearsay. Id not be surpised to find out that shady shit goes on at GTMO, and I know you put a lot of work into this, but what I see is "Salon says that ACLU says that they have a memo where an FBI agent says he went to GTMO and another guy implied that Rummy wanted them to torture somebody"
You wonder why it doesnt stick, its all hearsay. and NO, I cant do better right now. Im just saying, theres got to be better sources out there for this.
Posted by: Lactar at December 18, 2004 12:15 AM
The document is here.
http://www.aclu.org/torturefoia/released/t3131_3133.pdf
The line to look for in the memo is: "DoD has their marching orders from the SecDef [Secretary of Defense]."
Conason isn't a gossip.
Posted by: Bob Cesca at December 18, 2004 10:31 AM
