ACLU Response To Former Vice-President Cheney's Call For Release Of Bush Torture Documentation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org
NEW YORK – In response to the recent release of four torture memos, Vice-President Dick Cheney has called for further disclosure of documents regarding interrogation policy under the Bush administration. The torture memos were released as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union.
The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:
“Mr. Cheney is correct to propose that the public should have more information about the CIA’s torture program, but disclosure should be comprehensive. The new administration should begin by declassifying documents that would shed light on the role of Mr. Cheney and other senior Bush administration officials in authorizing that program.
“For eight years, Mr. Cheney served as a cheerleader for torture, stating on national television that waterboarding was a ‘no brainer’ and encouraging CIA interrogators to ‘work the dark side.’ The public has a right to know the extent of Mr. Cheney’s role in authorizing the CIA to use methods that the United States once prosecuted as war crimes. CIA interrogators who broke the law should be held accountable for their conduct, but it would be unacceptable if only CIA interrogators were held accountable for actions that were authorized by Mr. Cheney and other Bush administration officials.”
More information about the release of the torture memos and the ACLU’s work fighting torture can be found online at: www.aclu.org/olcmemos
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