"Gonzales will do nothing but advance this country into a greater state of fascism. His commitment to follow the law and protect American rights means nothing if he views the rest of the law with the same lens that he used to view the 'torture' laws."

WASHINGTON, D.C. (1/10) - The central issue during the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings this past week on the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as the attorney general of the United States, was whether White House policy condones torture and whether torture is justified. The official position of the White House is that there has never been a policy condoning torture. However, according to a number of authorities, U.S. and international laws against torture and inhume treatment of prisoners have been repeatedly violated by the U.S.

 

The problem started at the top. According to Gonzales, there was a point that important information was needed to save innocent lives and a decision on torture had to be made. Bush and Rumsfeld approved the torture plan, over objections by the State Department  and requests to reconsider the new policy. Gonzales admits that the President was involved in the debate and decisions on the White House torture policy which sought the outer limits of permissible lawful torture in order to obtain information and further the President's agenda. The widely disseminated Gonzales/Bush "torture memos" sent a signal  to U.S. troops that torture is permitted. and resulted in torture in Iraq, Afghanistan, Gauntanamo and in other countries to which the U.S. delivered prisoners.
 

The "torture memos" argued in essence that Bush was above the law in war. By seeking to redefine torture the President invaded the province of Congress by creating new Presidential laws on torture which were in complete contradiction to existing law. The dissemination of the "torture memos" - which instructed on guidelines for the outer limits of permissible torture - constituted de facto approval of torture by the President.

George Bush directly tied to torture decision

According to the testimony of at the confirmation hearings by Gonzales, Bush personally participated in the torture debates and decisions on the use of torture to get information from prisoners.

Gonzales emphasized the issue of torture was important to Bush. "This was an issue that the White House cared very much about," Gonzales testified under oath. He went on to state that, "As we have debated these questions, the president has made clear that he is prepared to protect and defend the United States and its citizens and will do so vigorously."

With regard to the decision not to apply the Geneva Convention to prisoners deemed to be al Qaida, Gonzales confirms the President's participation, stating: "And so I do believe the decision by the president was absolutely the right thing to do."

So, Gonzales establishes that Bush was involved in the "debate" on torture and participated in the decisions that lead to application of torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners. The torture at abu Ghraid and elsewhere goes to the very top. If it involves just a few bad apples, that's where they are.

Impetus is added to the fact that Bush himself approved methods of "torture" by the fact that he was informed of it an did nothing. Bush personally received a memo in January of 2002 that specifically advising him that "torture" was occurring at Abu Ghraid prison. After receiving this information he did nothing until after the story broke on CBS's 60 Minutes and in News Week and  the New Yorker in May - four months after Bush was informed of the "torture."

For the President of the U.S. to receive a memo, if not briefing, where the word "torture" was used in connection with action of U.S. military and then do or say nothing about it for four months, until the matter broke in the news, is evidence of the President's approval, not just of the methods employed, but, of "torture" itself. There should have been shock, not silence. There should have been action, not apathy. Just the words "torture" and "U.S." in the same breathe is a blow to American democracy. Silence by the President makes it all the more staggering.

The world is watching

The world is watching. As put by the Japanese Times, "A reluctance to move up the chain of command in the face of overwhelming evidence of knowledge and approval by ranking officers will only convince audiences around the world that the U.S. is not interested in truth or justice. And perceptions are critical in the war on terror. The greatest asset that the U.S. and its allies have in this struggle is the belief that they are fighting for a greater good. The Abu Ghraib torture photos suggest that there is a yawning divide between America's self-appointed role as the defender of freedom and human rights, and reality. That gap must be bridged if Washington is to reassert its claim to moral leadership. And that, not the much vaunted military, is its most crucial asset in the world today."

Gonzales hearing

 

Although Gonzales knew the "torture memos" created on his watch in January and August 2002 would be a central issue in the confirmation hearings, he was prepared to be unprepared. He used, I must "review" the documents, I do not "remember," and I don't want to give you the wrong answer, repeatedly to, as the Bush administration terms it, dodge the bullet and avoid answering key questions in the public hearings. It looks like the reward for evasiveness and his dedication to setting standards for "torture" will be a promotion to the attorney general of the United States.

 

At the hearing there was reference to substantial evidence that for at least two years the Bush administration systematically condoned torture as a matter of practice and policy. (See TMT article about Abu Ghraid: Four legs good, two legs baaad!, Putting the brakes on the animal farm)

 

Starting as early as January 2002, George Bush was personally involved in establishing a White House policy on torture that encouraged torture, by creating technical ostensible defenses to torture, creating "rights free zones," by permitting other countries to do the torture for us,