Jun 17th, 2009
Posted by Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 6:57pm	Torture

Torture: Immoral and Useless

Tell us something we don't know.

We know torture is immoral, of course. And we know, from testimony by former interrogators like Matthew Alexander (who contributed to our Accountability for Torture Blog Forum earlier this week) and FBI agents like Ali Soufan, that torture doesn't work. The less-redacted Combatant Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) transcripts released this week only confirm as much.

Earlier this week on the Rachel Maddow Show, ACLU National Security Project staff attorney Ben Wizner spoke about the newly released transcripts, which we received from the Justice Department as part of our ongoing CSRT Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit. It's hard to dispute the fact that torture doesn't work when you look at the tribunal's own documentary record. Ben says:

There was one thing in that passage that the Bush administration desperately did not want the world to know, and that was that its illegal torture program not only was immoral, but that it was also useless.

You heard Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. He said, “They tortured me and I said, ‘OK, bin Laden is there.” But have we caught bin Laden?

Indeed. So why torture? And why the cover-up? Why all the blacked out portions of the transcripts? Ben points out that the Bush administration desperately wanted to hide the fact that its illegal, immoral program also didn't work. But even more disturbingly, it appears that the Obama administration is continuing to cover up Bush-era torture. As Ben stated on the show, “The disturbing trend here is that…the Obama administration is stepping back from transparency because they see that it is an inevitable ingredient to accountability.”

Below are two versions of the same page taken from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed's CSRT hearing. Click to view the full-size PDF:

Released in 2008 by the Bush DOJ.	Released on June 19, 2009 by the Obama DOJ.

I know, it's hard to tell the difference. But the one on the right, the one released by the Obama DOJ, reveals this juicy tidbit: "On 5 September 2006, I was transferred here [to GTMO, Cuba]." President Bush revealed as much in a speech he gave on September 6, 2006. Not exactly a life-or-death national security secret the Bush administration was blacking out, was it? Makes you wonder what else is behind the redactions.

Now is the time to demand accountability. In an opinion piece featured on Salon today, the ACLU’s Executive Director Anthony Romero and Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld — who served as a prosecutor in the Gitmo military commissions and resigned from six cases due to ethical problems with the tribunal system — make a case for accountability. They state:

There are some who might find it surprising to be hearing from the two of us together — a civil libertarian and an Army officer. But to us, the fit is quite natural. While having taken different paths, we have both sought the same destination: the preservation of American values, the rule of law and human rights. Without accountability, we cannot preserve those ideals. Without holding ourselves to the standards we wish to impose on others, we cannot move forward and we cannot hold ourselves out as a nation that adheres to a legal and moral code of conduct. It is critical that we hold accountable those who authorized, those who legally sanctioned and those who implemented the torture policies of one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history. What is at stake is nothing less than our democracy.

Head over to Salon to read the full piece, and then stop by our Accountability for Torture site to learn more. Send evidence of torture to the DOJ, and demand that it appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate those who authorized torture.

Permalink |	Torture

Tags: accountability

1. anon Says:
   Jun 19th, 2009 at 9:39am

   From the Daily Kos, regarding Lt.Col. Darrel Vandeveld: “The retaliation Vandeveld feared began even before he testified, and it was fierce and personal. Frakt told the court that the chief prosecutor had directed Vandeveld to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, ordered him to stay at home, and prohibited him from coming into his office pending his official release from military service.”

   This is the way it works. If anyone complains or speaks out about torture (or the domestic surveillance efforts that have yet been revealed to the general public), one is asked to submit to a psychiatric evaluation. The goal is to discredit and marginalize any opposition — to silence those who do not agree with state-supported terror and torture. It's shameful.

   Thank you for this post.

2. Paen Says:
   Jun 19th, 2009 at 1:00pm

   Anon this sounds like stuff that happend Soviet Union during the 1970s.

3. anon Says:
   Jun 20th, 2009 at 2:50pm

   (correction) "not" was omitted from the following in Comment #1: "(or the domestic surveillance efforts that have NOT yet been revealed to the general public)"

   To Paen: Yes. And dissidents were given a diagnosis of "sluggishly progressive paranoia/schizophrenia" and locked away in mental institutions.

   Discredit people by fabricating evidence or some other means, then label them "crazy" when they speak up and report the truth. They're not believed and lives are ruined, but the Machiavellian, sadistic games can continue.

   There are many "doubters" because it's such unbelievable stuff, but it's happening right here in the good, old USA. Those behind it continue to act with impunity.

4. Anonymous Says:
   Jun 21st, 2009 at 9:25pm

   Unaccountable NSA illegal spying of our private communications, is exactly why I have joined other people who have chosen to OPT-OUT of purchasing large ticket items.

   No one in their right mind would commit to hustling money to pay for things like a new car knowing our federal government, w/o probable cause, is listening-in on business deals communicated over the phone/internet. Moreover, any eavesdropping federal employee hiding behind the “Patriot Act” is likely to throw a behind-the-scene wrench in someone's confidential business deal(s) simply b/c he/she does not like that person's political take-on things.

   I urge anyone who wants to put a stop to illegal surveillance to stop spending money on big-ticket items altogether. Such action will let POTUS know the current severe recession will only get worse as long as he continues to allow federal employees to engage in illegal wiretaps/surveillance on Americans.

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