According to this story in the Financial Times, we now know why the “torture appeasement” bill is so important to Bush:
The Bush administration had to empty its secret prisons and transfer terror suspects to the military-run detention centre at Guantánamo this month in part because CIA interrogators had refused to carry out further interrogations and run the secret facilities, according to former CIA officials and people close to the programme.
The former officials said the CIA interrogators’ refusal was a factor in forcing the Bush administration to act earlier than it might have wished. […]
The administration publicly explained its decision in light of the legal uncertainty surrounding permissible interrogation techniques following the June Supreme Court ruling that all terrorist suspects in detention were entitled to protection under Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions.
But the former CIA officials said Mr Bush’s hand was forced because interrogators had refused to continue their work until the legal situation was clarified because they were concerned they could be prosecuted for using illegal techniques. One intelligence source also said the CIA had refused to keep the secret prisons going.
Between Valerie Plame, disputes over intelligence estimates regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and now this, latest assault on his manliness, Our Leader Bush must really hate the CIA apparatchiks about now, doncha think?
I’m guessing the feeling is mutual.
I’ll say. I watched the House Judiciary hearings yesterday. The GOP is totally demolished on this issue. They have no moral high ground and they know it.
Not to worry. Rove has promised an October Surprise from Bush to help the GOP win the elections. then everyone can torture to their little black hearts’ content.
I tend to think that Rove would claim he had an October surprise up his sleeve whether he actually did or not. Republican candidates in many cases could use any form of encouragement they could get; hearing Rove say that he’s not going to pull another rabbit out of his hat to help them could be devastating.
As to what the actual October surprise might be, given the recent apparent mini-thaw in relations with Iran (conversations on the side at the UN, & Bush saying he thinks it could be resolved diplomatically), I wonder if it could involve a diplomatic breakthrough? That would be a twist.
Drip, drip and related; from BBC today quite a header, with pics.
WARNING: Disturbing. Brutually descriptive.
Who’d thought we read..
Just in, Reuters:
U.N. rights envoys condemn Bush plan on interrogation
“GENEVA (Reuters) – United Nations human rights investigators said on Thursday that legislation proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush for tough interrogations of foreign terrorism suspects would breach the Geneva Conventions.“
[.]
Or perhaps they just needed to free the space to house all of Abramoff’s buddies. 😉
We now have hard evidence that CIA-trained, career-professional torturers have higher moral standards than Dubya and the neo-cons.
These would be the same CIA-trained, career-professional torturers that have been teaching torture methods at such “fine” institutions as the US Army School of the Americas at Fort Benning to every Banana Republic Junta that the CIA propped up.
Do you laugh hysterically or break down into violent sobbing when you find out the President has gone so far over the deep end that even the career torture professionals won’t go along anymore?
Not a higher moral standard; just a greater fear of post-Bush Justice Department prosecutors.
Given Bush’s latest desperate play for ex-post facto exoneration, it seems the CIA’s fear is catching.
CIA agents have seen who got the blame (and the jail sentence) from the Abu Ghraib incidents… and what happened to Valarie Plame. They know the Administration will throw them to the wolves of the Justice Dept. should the fit hit the shan at any point, and deny all knowledge… The Administration has bullied, ignored, blamed or betrayed the CIA at every turn, for its own convenience or policies.
I’m not surprised there’s rebellion in the ranks.
It’s a grass roots movement within the government that’s telling the four-star equivalant lip lockers at the top of the CIA that the rank and file won’t put up with the neo-conjob any more.
They’ve already seen what happened to the sorry enlisted flunkies at Abu Ghraib.