This Law provides for the prosecution of a U.S. national or anyone present in the United States who, while outside the U.S., commits or attempts to commit torture. Torture is defined as an "act committed by a person acting under the color of law specifically intended to inflict severe physical or mental pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering incidental to lawful sanctions) upon another person within his custody or physical control." The specific provision that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld have violated is Section 2340A(c), which says, "Conspiracy. - A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy."
THERE CAN BE NO DOUBT THAT TORTURE WAS OFFICIAL (SECRET) GOVERNMENT POLICY AT ABU GHRAIB
The photographs have made that clear. This wasn't the misbehavior of a few isolated individuals. And "panties on your head" wasn't what they were doing. It was official Government policy, and it was torture, as defined in The Federal Torture Act, cited above.
If it were merely some individuals, then where did they get all the sophisticated and expensive torture equipment shown in the pictures? Where did the restraint chairs come from? And the various straps, and racks, and hoods, and electrical equipment, and shackles, and waterboards, etc. etc. come from? Did the individual soldiers bring them from home? Obviously not. The Government provided all these things, in order to implement their illegal policy of torture. And Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld were behind this policy, all the way. It could not have happened without their knowledge and consent.
REPUBLICANS IN CONGRESS MAY EVENTUALLY SUPPORT US
But you might say, "It will never work. Republicans who control the House would never let this happen. They would find some way to block this effort."
To which I would reply, "Maybe not. They would still keep the Presidency, because Speaker Hastert would become the new President, under existing law, and he is a Republican. All they would lose is Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. Many Republicans might actually enjoy being rid of these arrogant, dangerous, power-grabbing individuals, who have so clearly and persistently broken the duly-enacted Laws of Congress, including all those relating to torture."
"Moreover," I would say, "they may have won some elections, but they do not own the House. They are merely the temporary custodians of it, subject always to the Constitution and the "House Rules And Manual."
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
I am horrified and revolted by the mere idea that our Country - acting in our name and by our authority - is committing the Satanic and depraved acts of torture which the whole world has now witnessed. As a Christian minister, I cannot imagine how people who dare to call themselves Christians could ever fall so far into Hell as to do these things or support them. We have no excuse whatsoever, not even the phony excuse that we need to torture in order to "protect Americans from the terrorists, etc." To me, this is a flat-out lie, and I challenge them to produce even one solid case where torture was necessary to accomplish any good result. We are not the desperate Israelis, surrounded by hostile neighbors and outnumbered 100-to 1, and being bombed repeatedly. Grasping at straws, and unwilling to admit their mistakes, they have actually legalized torture in some cases (or so I have read). But their unfortunate situation is far different from ours, thank God. We have no excuse. And we certainly should not be following their example in anything regarding terrorism, because their results have been a disaster. And they are far less safe now than before they started to torture their enemies.
If the United States Of America has become so powerless and ineffective that we now need to torture people in order to "protect ourselves us from terrorism," then we have become just as rotten as the terrorists, and we do not deserve to defeat them or anybody else.
And I directly blame Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld, first for sleeping through the warnings and allowing the 9-11 attacks to occur, and then for using torture as a favorite means of trying to get us out of the mess that they themselves have created for us.
Rev. Bill McGinnis is an Internet Christian minister, writer and publisher. He is Director of LoveAllPeople.org, a small private think tank in Alexandria, Virginia, and all of its related websites, including InternetChurchOfChrist.org,CommitteeForTheGoldenRule.org,CivicAmerican.com, and AmericanDemocrat.net. His agenda is to help maximize the happiness and well-being of all people. His blog is located at http://blog.myspace.com/revbillmcginnis
Noone would love to see an impeachment proceeding begun against the three you mention more than would I, but we live in a reality.
You seem aware of the methodolgy for impeachment proceedings yet ignore the most basic need, namely a majority of the House must support it to send it forward and a majority of the Senate must be willing to prosecute it successfully.
As the current make up of both Houses leans GOP, and as that party is nothing more or less than a roboticised rubber stamp for the Executive, this talk of impeachment is just premature, at best.
Talk to me after the Democrats have won the House later this year, if indeed they have.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2388 comments)
on Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 10:46:52 AM
I wish that many of the people who call themselves Christians would open their eyes and read this. Too many people have been fooled by the Bush/Cheny/Rumsfeld/ propaganda and actually believe these people are Christians. Anybody can call himself a Christian; it is a person's actions that tell the tale. The tales told by this administration have been the kind of twisted horror story that most Christians would actually denounce as depraved if someone attempted to put it onto a screen or in a book. But it's all too real. They have no conscience, no honor, and no respect for human dignity. I was taught in Church and by my Bible that no Christian would EVER behave toward ANY human being the way they have. Christians are not supposed to have that kind of evil and brutatlity in their hearts. I was also taught throughout all my years in school that the United States of American would NEVER, EVER under any circumstances torture ANYBODY for ANY reason. Our nation is supposed to be above that kind behavior. We are supposed to be an example to the rest of the world of justice, fairness and the rule of law. How can we be that when our leaders behave as those three dangerous men have??? It is way past time for them to be impeached and removed from office for high crimes and misdemeanors too almost too numerous to name.
by
Sharon COOPER (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Sunday, February 19, 2006 at 8:01:41 PM
I thought you were going to tell me where the impeachment key was on my computer, so I could get instant satisfaction. But to no avail...
What I want to know is the ability to impeach senators and house members who support Bush's lying Texass. Certainly voting them out is not enough after their support of these crimes. Especially if they can steal presidential elections why stop there, when the House and Senate can do the same?
It is not about the torture crimes, because going after them for that is like thinking the War was justified in the first place. It is about lying to go to War, and the resulting lie implementing the torture at AbuGhraib and Gitmo.
In the end I think they will end up finding Bush Cheney and Rumsfeld in some hole just like they found Saddam as they keep denying their corruption of democracy.
by
Dom Jermano (20 articles, 0 quicklinks, 40 diaries, 934 comments)
on Monday, February 20, 2006 at 7:06:37 AM
