Apr 15th, 2009
Posted by Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 6:19pm	Torture

Memos on the Mind

As you may recall, the ACLU has been trying to get Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos that provided the legal basis for the CIA’s illegal torture program.

Tomorrow, April 16, a deadline set in our FOIA lawsuit, we may finally see the documents authored by then-OLC attorneys Steven Bradbury and Jay Bybee. The memos reportedly provided legal justification for the CIA’s use of enhanced interrogation methods — at black sites like the ones Abd Al-Rahim Hussain Mohammed Al-Nashiri was held in — that amounted to torture. The memos also reportedly provided legal cover for the CIA’s interrogation methods in anticipation of Congress’s expected effort to outlaw “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment,” which it did in the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, passed several months after Bradbury issued the memos.

In this new ACLU video, National Security Project Director Jameel Jaffer talks about why it’s so important for the Obama administration to live up to its promise of transparency by disclosing the memos.

Please note that by playing this clip You Tube and Google will place a long-term cookie on your computer. Please see You Tube's privacy statement on their website and Google's privacy statement on theirs to learn more. To view the ACLU's privacy statement, click here.

Last week, in the same statement announcing the closure of the black sites, CIA Director Leon Panetta was quoted telling Department of Justice (DOJ) staff that CIA officers who participated in the agency's brutal interrogation program “should not be investigated, let alone punished,” because the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) told CIA officers the program was legal.

We hope that the new administration will make good on its promise of transparency and turn over unredacted versions of these memos tomorrow. The information in these memos is vital to the historical record and to informing the public about what actions were carried out in its name. But, transparency is just a first step towards accountability.

As President Obama and Attorney General Holder have said, no one is above the law.  The release of the memos is also crucial to holding officials accountable for authorizing torture.

If you haven't already, please send a letter to Attorney General Holder. He's taken the first step and signed-off on the release of the memos. Tell him now to appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate Bush administration officials who authorized torture.

Permalink |	Torture

1. Dr. Arbor Says:
   Apr 16th, 2009 at 12:06am

   Is the ACLU aware that there is a lengthy history of these practices that goes back to the inception of the CIA and NSA... if not earlier?

   Is the ACLU prepared to also address the long history of torture of American citizens in the U.S.?

   Many of the practices that I have observed in Guantanamo interrogation footage and read about from various sources... including the recently released Red Cross Torture Report were "perfected" in psychiatric facilities and U.S. prisons. This information is readily available in original formats on the internet. Is the ACLU not familiar with this documentation?

   This is an extremely complex issue as some of these practices are intentionally designed to result in dissociation and the loss of memory... or produce symptomatology that suggests that the victim of torture is mentally unstable and therefore not a credible witness. Some U.S. citizens... including whistle blowers, researchers, inventors, scientists, reporters, engineers, archeologists, health care professionals, human rights advocates, authors, etc... have also been targeted and subjected to numerous types of experimentation and harassment in order to study them without their consent, disrupt their lives, destroy their reputations, lose their livelihood, isolate them, make them appear paranoid, cause insurmountable damage to their health, encourage suicidal behavior... and even bring about their death. Much of this information was previously denied or hidden under the over-reaching umbrella of a "Threat to National Security"... and much is still limited in availability due to censorship in the media and on the internet. There is also indication that the various branches of the U.S. government including the judicial system has been severely compromised... resulting in a lack of investigation, prosecution and accountability for these actions. Is the ACLU &/or other civil rights organizations prepared to bring these matters out into the open and address them? Or will this too need to be dealt with by the International community?

   There is also the additional issue of not only the health and stability of those who were tortured, but also those who were doing the torturing... both of which are in dire need of being addressed. There is evidence that suggests that some of the torturers were themselves subjected to some of these practices in order to desensitize them and allow them to exhibit such blatant disregard for their fellow human beings. It would be tragic if these individuals, including military personnel, were to be punished while those at the highest levels of government who were involved in the authorization and development of these secret projects were not held accountable. Is the ACLU and the U.S. government prepared to do what is necessary in order to send a clear signal that this will never again be tolerated either abroad or within the U.S.?

   There are also known technologies... some of which have been developed by and with the support of the U.S. government that would allow for the truth of these crimes to be uncovered in the event that evidence has been destroyed or documents are not made available. Is the ACLU aware that these technologies exist?

   Additionally... in order to address the chain reaction whereby victims become perpetrators... there are also highly effective therapies that are now available to restore the stress response and brain functioning which becomes compromised as a result of the trauma that results from torture. These imbalances are the underlying cause of the symptoms that manifest in such a way that they are viewed as "mental illnesses"... sometimes resulting in violent behavior... and treated by psychiatry with limited success at best... and often with the dangerous side-effects of psychotropic medication and practices such as ECT... which ironically is known to create further brain damage. These imbalances are also responsible for a growing list of serious and chronic health conditions that later manifest and are highly correlated with a diagnosis of PTSD as well as TBI.

   Unfortunately the field of psychiatry, along with the pharmaceutical industry and the FDA, has largely monopolized the diagnosis and treatment of these conditions, while the most safe, natural, effective and cost-efficient remedies are not being readily available to the public... either not covered by health insurance (including Medicaid) or challenged or banned by the AMA, APA and the FDA. Given that trauma is a +$100 billion business... this should come as no surprise. Nor should it shock anyone that attempts have been made to block this information from reaching the public. Is the ACLU and U.S. government prepared to do what is necessary to protect and support the efforts of those who wish to come forward with such information?

   If there are not considerable changes made that allow for greater access of these treatments as well as an entire shift in the paradigm of medicine as it has been practiced in the U.S.... and if investigations are not launched to uncover the full history and extent of these problems in all levels of the U.S. government and hold those accountable who have allowed these problems to flourish... history will only continue to repeat itself and the U.S. will not be able to move forward.

   As challenging and embarrassing and painful this process will be... there is simply no other choice if there is to be a healing of the United States.

   *One suggestion for the ACLU... consider developing another system so that volunteer intake call counselors are not functioning as gatekeepers regarding whether or not the ACLU is willing to take a case. I have contacted my regional office to request that they consider what would be a very major case with multiple Constitutional and other civil rights violations... only to have the very same intake counselor give me inaccurate information and refuse to allow me to speak with a superior on two separate occasions. This is not at all what I would have expected in contacting the ACLU. I will be following up on this in the very near future through other channels... but the ACLU may want to review its policies and consider making some internal changes itself!

2. anon Says:
   Apr 17th, 2009 at 2:57pm

   Much of what "Dr. Arbor" reports is in agreement with what I know to be true. Law-abiding Americans have been "targeted" in the fashion described by "Dr. Arbor", and the harassment continues, as unbelievable as it may sound.

   If the ACLU doesn't help the victims of these abuses, I can't imagine who will, unless a whistleblower comes forward. I implore the ACLU to take action on behalf of the Americans who see no way out of something that is truly Machiavellian.

3. anonymous comment Says:
   Apr 18th, 2009 at 9:25am

   Quoting "Dr. Arbor", "Some U.S. citizens… including...health care professionals...have also been targeted and subjected to...harassment in order to study them without their consent, disrupt their lives, destroy their reputations, lose (sic) their livelihood, isolate them, make them appear paranoid, cause insurmountable damage to their health, encourage suicidal behavior… and even bring about their death. Much of this information was previously denied or hidden under the over-reaching umbrella of a “Threat to National Security”… and much is still limited in availability due to censorship in the media and on the internet. There is also indication that the various branches of the U.S. government including the judicial system has been severely compromised… resulting in a lack of investigation, prosecution and accountability for these actions."

   What this individual says is true, and there's no doubt about it. While it may sound unbelievable, it's the truth.

   The ACLU is the only group, in my opinion, with the experience, tenacity, credibility and expertise to force these issues/crimes out into the open for all to see. If the ACLU remains silent, the lives of good, productive, law-abiding citizens will be sacrificed.

4. anon Says:
   Apr 19th, 2009 at 2:46pm

   Why does it take so long for comments to post to these articles?