Buck Naked Politics

"Breaking the Silence": Israeli Soldiers Speak Out

Posted by Damozel | The young man described below was speaking to reporters from The Independent with the encouragement of Yehuda Shaul, "a founder of Shovrim Shtika, or Breaking the Silence....which will publish tomorrow the disturbing testimonies of 39 Israelis....who served in the army in Hebron between 2005 and 2007. " (The Independent)    

Bush Confirms Torture Policy (Part 2) to the Sound of Crickets Chirping

Posted by Damozel | Why isn't this story all over the news?  Why are we talking about anything else? It's the very same weekend when Bush blandly confirmed that oh yeah, he knew all about it?  Why aren't he and Cheney and the whole crew about to be impeached?   Have the wheels of justice really rusted to a complete stop?  Are we really so cynical that we're past being shocked or thinking there's anything we can do about this? 

Not all of us.  Digby writes:

I thought I was long past the point of being shocked at anything the Bush administration did. They suspended the constitution after 9/11 and set forth a series of legal opinions that said the president can do anything he deems necessary to "protect the country." Once you truly absorb that fact, it's hard to be emotionally affected by anything else you learn.

Bush Aware of National Security Team's Discussions of Torture

Posted by Damozel |   Did you know that George W. Bush is still president?  It's true.

And while the Dems were sniping at one another last week, we learned that  the top officials in the  Bush Administration not only approved but specifically authorized the use of torture in the interrogation of terror suspects.(BN-Politics)  Cheney, Powell, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Rice, Powell, and Tenet all were named as participants in these discussions. (BN-Politics)  ("Why are we talking about this in the White House? History will not judge this kindly," Ashcroft worried. (ABC News))  But Bush's name was not listed among those present and in fact, they took care to "insulate" him. (AP)

In fact, of course, he did know all along.

Sources Tell ABC News: Bush Administration Officials Participated in War Crimes

Posted by Damozel | Did anyone ever doubt that certain top administration officials were involved every step of the way in authorizing the interrogation techniques used on al-Qaeda?  Most of the people I know certainly thought so. 

Everyone, in fact, except my mom.  So I am not surprised, though somehow I am quite shocked.  There is quite a bit of difference between 'knowing' and knowing.  And now the 'highly placed sources' have come out of the woodwork.  What took you so long, highly placed sources?

Bush to Veto Anti-Torture Legislation

D. Cupples | The Washington Post reports:

"President Bush today will veto legislation meant to ban the CIA from using waterboarding and other harsh interrogation tactics and will argue that the agency needs to use tougher methods than the U.S. military to wrest information from terrorism suspects, administration officials said....

"'The bill would take away one of the most valuable tools on the war on terror: the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives,' White House spokesman tony Fratto said yesterday."

There are a couple of problems with what Mr. Fratto is saying on Mr. Bush's behalf.