In the introduction to their book, Administration of Torture, ACLU attorneys Amrit Singh and Jameel Jaffer quote President Bush:
“Let me make very clear the position of my government and our country. We do not condone torture. I have never ordered torture. I will never order torture. The values of this country are such that torture is not a part of our soul and our being.”
Flash forward to this past week, when ABC News revealed that orders to torture prisoners arrested in the so-called “war on terror” came from the very top of the Bush administration cabinet. On Friday, in an interview with ABC News’ Martha Raddatz, Bush said of the news:
…[Y]es, I’m aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved. I don’t know what’s new about that; I’m not so sure what’s so startling about that.
The Washington Post‘s Dan Froomkin provided a great round-up of the story yesterday-and points to the mainstream media’s collective shrug when the news broke. His column also gives a great roundup of editorial pieces that agree with the ACLU and Crooks and Liars that Congress must act now, and appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and other top officials’ roles in the authorization of torture of detainees in U.S. custody overseas.
If you haven’t already, please sign our petition. We’ve already collected 80,127 signatures (and counting) so far; we’re hoping to break 100,000 by the end of the week! Demand that Congress hold the Bush administration accountable for these abuses of power.
