U.S. politics has become something previously only found in science fiction, an intersection of parallel universes. One universe is the one on television and in Congress. In this universe there are suspicions that someone in the U.S. military may have used some technique bordering on torture, but there's just no way to know for sure. Perhaps an investigation would be a good idea. Or maybe a better solution would be to elect a new president, especially one who's been a victim of torture and opposes it. But the whole topic is very minor one, and the correct position is unclear since torture is both frowned on and useful for getting tough on terrorists.
In the other universe, John McCain has been supporting torture for years now, but virtually every informed observer recognizes that torture serves no practical purpose and is dragging world opinion of the United States into the gutter, making us less safe. In this other world, we encounter information like that collected in a new book by Michael Ratner called "The Trial of Donald Rumsfeld." We discover that there is voluminous evidence in the form of photographs and first-hand testimony that our nation has been engaged in using a wide array of the most abusive torture techniques possible for years now, resulting in many known cases of murder -- of the torture resulting in death.
In this other world, sometimes known as reality, there is extensive documentary evidence that torture has been authorized by many top U.S. officials, including George Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Stephen Cambone, Ricardo Sanchez, Geoffrey Miller, Walter Wojdakowski, Thomas Pappas, Barbara Fast, Marc Warren, Alberto Gonzales, William James Haynes II, David Addington, John C. Yoo, and Jay Bybee. There are other names that could be added, but those are the individuals indicted in Ratner's book. Ratner actually leaves out Bush and Cheney, but says he is only doing so because they are still in office.
Ratner presents the evidence against these torturers, and then presents substantial evidence in their defense in the form of memos they've written trying to argue that what is blatantly illegal is legal. Then Ratner debunks their claims. His book does for torture what Elizabeth de la Vega's book ("U.S. v. Bush et alia") did for defrauding a nation into war: it lays out the case to a grand jury, or to a jury. There is sufficient evidence in this book to put these people behind bars. There is sufficient material here to understand how these criminals would defend themselves in court as well. And all of this exists in a world apart from Congress and television.
I'm not arguing for actual conviction by book. While we can guess how people might defend themselves, they must be given a fair chance to actually do so before being convicted. But every book like this that emerges should help us break through the erroneous idea that we need to investigate before we can conclude that torture has been committed, that it is illegal, and that the individuals named above bear legal responsibility for it.
In the parallel universe inhabited by Congress, the furthest reaches of advocacy for justice are inhabited by things like the resolution Rep. Tammy Baldwin introduced on Friday (http://afterdowningstreet.org/baldwinbill ), urging the next president to please stop committing some of the unconstitutional and illegal abuses of the current one, but at the same time urging the next president to investigate whether the current one or any of his subordinates committed any crimes. This eternal demand for investigations (even while acknowledging the crimes) is much like the demand of other politicians for additional proof before they'll believe global warming exists. Both pretenses are motivated by corrupting influences. To admit that no investigations are needed of torture and war crimes would be to admit that Congress could very quickly impeach the president if it chose to. Baldwin is one of a small minority of Congress members who have supported impeachment. She announced her new resolution on a Friday night during a presidential debate when almost nobody would notice and focused it entirely on appealing to the executive branch not to misuse its dictatorial powers, as opposed to stripping those powers away and restoring Congress to its proper place in our government. And 434 other Congress members did even less than that.
Books can't cross from one universe to another. Nobody could pretend further investigations were needed if they held a copy of Ratner's book. Ratner lays out the case on torture, including the evidence, the counter-arguments, and their refutations, exactly as if we were all living in the real world. Prosecution is possible abroad, but courts abroad will be heavily influenced by the amount of public pressure we can create for prosecution within the United States. Strategies for prosecution within the United States and abroad are being organized: http://convictbushcheney.org The trick will be to properly merge this movement with the universe of the media-congressional-military complex.
David Swanson is the author of the upcoming book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press and of the introduction to "The 35 Articles of Impeachment and the Case for Prosecuting George W. (more...)
The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.
I've been trying to say it for years. two worlds. You hit it right on the head. And nothing gets done. It is NEVER too late to impeach. Defending our Constitution and corruption at the top must be stopped before anything else makes sense. This is more the fault of the democrats, the majority, the "opposition party" than anyone's. We must face up to it. It's a one party system. Progressive arguments put forth in this great opednews should be those of the democrats, those we should be reading in mainstream papers, but they are not. Our system of representation sucks. I don't know about everyone else but I would love to record on YouTube any one of dozens and dozens of my attempts to get through to my rep, Bill Delahunt, D-MA. What a joke...on us. Trouble is it's not so funny anymore. Pelosi, Conyers...all of them...These people have to go. They have been skating too long. We must demand they keep to the issues. Come up with a new format for the debates. Insist anyone running for president be given the chance to be heard so the People can decide despite the candidates "ratings" and how much money they have. We must be assured our elections are honest. Let the mainstream media write themselves into oblivion. Viva opednews!!! Go Kucinich, Wexler, Cindy, Cynthia.
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Nick van Nes (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 596 comments [150 recommended, 1 rejected]) on Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 at 7:48:06 AM
It is clear that the behavior of the terrorists in high places could eventually lead to their arrest, conviction and imprisonment or, on the other hand lead to a mental health hearing in front of a jury to determine if they are criminally insane, which would bring about their placement into a mental health facility that would provide them with humane treatment.; either measure could reduce the risk of nuclear extermination (by their hands) if acted upon..
The underlying question is; “How do we end the wrongful use of force without the use of counterforce?”
I only have the question, regrettably not the answer. “Do any of you have an idea of how this could be accomplished ?”
We have a clearly demonstrated group that can not find the will power to turn their murder mechanism off; is it not our duty to our fellow man (and woman) to get them the mental health treatment that their tortured minds and souls cry out for?
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Patrick (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 519 comments [22 recommended, 0 rejected]) on Sunday, Sep 28, 2008 at 8:48:08 PM
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