John McCain Versus Torture

May 15th, 2011

Joe Conason wrote a splendid piece this weekend regarding Sen. John McCain's (R-AZ) spirited and righteous condemnation of the liars and criminals (especially Thiessen and Yoo) from the W administration and their crude attempts to capitalize on the death of Osama Bin Laden.

I have published more than a few pieces (HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE) since lauching this blog about these sick and depraved violations of American principles. Indeed, this issue was the primary catalyst for me starting The Hand in the first place.

I have also lamented Sen. McCain's silence over the last few years. But now he has, at least to a degree, redeemed himself. Seriously, he shut the FOX lie machine down. That's no small thing in this day and age.

From Conason's piece via Truthout:

"For the longest time, a certain admirable, independent senator from Arizona disappeared from public life, replaced by an irresponsible, opportunistic and occasionally demagogic figure, who seemed to have been warped by his presidential ambitions and his disappointment in losing. But John McCain has now returned, just in time to refute the sinister attempt by his fellow Republicans to justify torture as the instrument of Osama bin Laden's demise.

During the last administration, even as a supporter of the Iraq invasion and the "war on terror," McCain broke ranks with his party to protest the worst excesses of the George W. Bush presidency. In one of the most memorable moments of the otherwise desultory Republican primary debates in 2008, he cited the Constitution, the Geneva Conventions and American military tradition to upbraid Mitt Romney for waffling on the issue of waterboarding. "This is what America is all about," he said indignantly. "This is a defining issue."

With every right-wing enabler from John Yoo to Marc Thiessen to Liz Cheney suddenly stepping forward to suggest that that the death of bin Laden absolves Bush-era criminality, it is refreshing to hear McCain's clear, strong voice of opposition. The torture advocates have claimed that the waterboarding of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a high-ranking leader in al-Qaida and an alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attack, caused him to reveal the identity of a courier whose trail led, almost seven years later, to the hideout in Abbotabad, Pakistan.

McCain is having none of this nonsense."

Neither are we, Mr. Senator. Neither are we.

Meet Matthew Alexander

May 10th, 2011

No matter how many members of the American right, ex-Bush administration figures in particular, have come forward to defend the use of torture during the last regime they are consistently finding push-back from one group of intelligence professionals... interrogators themselves. Matthew Alexander is one of these professionals. The most disturbing observation Alexander and others keep making is that all this pro-torture blather is the number one recruiting tool for Al Qaeda and groups like them.

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Quotes Of The Day - Here and Now Edition

May 9th, 2011

Over at Forbes, Osha Gray Davidson has a terrific piece pushing back against the "torture-got-Bin-Laden" lie being so heavily promoted HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE. Davidson interviews one of our top interrogators who has questioned suspects in GITMO, Iraq and Afghanistan as he describes this rush to defend the crimes of the previous administration as "propaganda [that] degrades our intelligence operations more than any other factor I can think of."

Notable:

"Simply the idea of our interrogators using torture or coercion recruits jihadists, facilitators, suppliers, supporters, and even suicide bombers, against us and our allies."

"Listen, waterboarding and/or other coercive techniques did nothing to contribute to our attempts to track down UBL (Usama bin Laden). What did succeed was weeks, months and years of diligent, laborious, and dedicated work – all within the bounds of legal and ethical boundaries….No torture, no waterboarding, no coercion – nothing inhumane – is considered a useful tool in our work."

The Money Quote:
"I cannot even count the amount of times that I personally have come face to face with detainees, who told me they were primarily motivated to do what they did, because of hearing that we committed torture." EMPHASIS OURS

No Torture

May 3rd, 2011

As the right raced to make vulgar claims that torture is somehow vindicated in the wake of the death of Osama Bin Laden, the lie was put to rest by none other than former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

From a Newsmax exclusive:
"Asked if harsh interrogation techniques at Guantanamo Bay played a role in obtaining intelligence on bin Laden’s whereabouts, Rumsfeld declares: “First of all, no one was waterboarded at Guantanamo Bay. That’s a myth that’s been perpetrated around the country by critics."

Nope. Torture did not help get Osama Bin Laden. And, by the way, it's still un-American and immoral.

It's Called Torture

March 6th, 2010


In a case that could prove to be dynamite in the Torture Debate,  US District Judge Wayne Andersen ruled that the torture claims of two US citizens who served as contractors in Iraq may go forward in their suit against former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.

Again, the allegation is that two United States citizens, one a Navy veteran, were tortured by our own forces.


From the linked story:


"The men claimed they were subjected to sleep and food deprivation, threats of violence, actual violence (emphasis added) and prolonged solitary confinement, according to yesterday’s ruling. Andersen said if those claims were true, “a court might plausibly determine that the conditions of confinement were torturous.” "

There Aren't Different Versions Of The Truth

Feb 19th, 2010

by F. Grey Parker

On Friday November 12th 1948, General Kenji Doihara, Baron Kōki Hirota, General Seishirō Itagaki, General Heitarō Kimura, General Iwane Matsui, General Akira Muto, General Hideki Tōjō were sentenced to death for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Primary amongst the actions for which they had been convicted were the torturous methods with which they interrogated prisoners. One of the principle tools was called the "water cure" otherwise known as waterboarding.