The American Bar Association approved a resolution on August 9, 2004 condemning torture. It said:
“RESOLVED, That the American Bar Association condemns any use of torture or other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment upon persons within the custody or
under the physical control of the United States government (including its contractors) and any endorsement or authorization of such measures by government lawyers, officials and agents;”
The resolution goes on to urge the U.S. to obey all international treaties and laws that prohibit torture. And, it also seeks vigorous investigation of torture and abuse of prisoners and “proceedings against persons who may have committed, assisted, authorized, condoned, had command responsibility for, or otherwise participated in such violations.”
And, in the report accompanying their resolution, the ABA points to the role of lawyers who provided legal cover for the torture program. They say: “We do not construe the giving of good faith legal advice to constitute endorsement or authorization of torture . . . the memoranda and the decisions of high U.S. officials at the very least contributed to a
culture in which prisoner abuse became widespread.”
In fact, the lawyers were the lynchpin. There was dissent inside the CIA, FBI and DoD over the torture program. Those directly involved were worried that they could be prosecuted for war crimes as torture is clearly prohibited by international and U.S. law. If lawyers had not manipulated the meaning of the law through tortured legal reasoning, the torture program would have ended rapidly. Honest legal advice would have prevented these war crimes.
This is why we are seeking torture accountability for all involved. The lawyers need to answer to ethics complaints, but that is not enough a public inquiry followed by the appointment of a special prosecutor are the steps that need to be taken to apply the rule of law and remove this toxic poison from the body politic.
Kevin Zeese, director of VotersForPeace.US is a board member of VelvetRevolution.US. To take action on torture accountability please visit www.VotersForPeace.US and www.DisbarTortureLawyers.com.
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