Obama muddles torture message »

Posted By tehranchik 7 months, 2 weeks ago in Political News

President Barack Obama’s attempt to project legal and moral clarity on coercive CIA interrogation methods has instead done the opposite — creating confusion and political vulnerability over an issue that has inflamed both the left and right.

In the most recent instance, Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair acknowledged in a memo to the intelligence community that Bush-era interrogation practices yielded had "high-value information,” then omitted that admission from a public version of his assessment.

That leaves a top Obama administration official appearing to validate claims by former Vice President Dick Cheney that waterboarding and other techniques the White House regards as torture were effective in preventing terrorist attacks. And the press release created the impression the administration was trying to suppress this conclusion.

The president, who has said he wants to focus on the future rather than litigate the past, also opened himself to distraction and attack by retracting the earlier assurance by top officials that they had no plans to prosecute lawyers for former President George W. Bush who approved the “enhanced interrogation” program.

Read Full Story at politico.com »

222 Views Share Story 2 Comments Report

Submitted By:
tehranchik

Well, I'm from and live in the Pacific Northwest. I did live in the middle east during the late 70's and early 80 ...

Who Also Submitted: All »
Other Related Articles: All »

RSS Join the Discussion

+ Add Comment
Comments So Far: 2 (view all)
- Display
  • 100%
    Endoscopy7 months, 2 weeks ago

    This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »

    Waterboarding does not violate the law.

    ------------------------------------
    US Code TITLE 18, PART I, CHAPTER 113C
    2340. Definitions

    As used in this chapter—

    (1) “torture” means 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;

    (2) “severe mental pain or suffering” means the prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from—
    (A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;
    (B) the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality;
    (C) the threat of imminent death; or
    (D) the threat that another person will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind-altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality; and

    (3) “United States” means the several States of the United States, the District of Columbia, and the commonwealths, territories, and possessions of the United States.

    (comment_max_expanded_depth : 2) (comment depth : 2) (recursion depth : 1) (max_comment_reply_depth : 40) (comment_max_render_depth : 3)
    Reply
    loading loading ...
    • Neutral
      calitennflo7 months, 2 weeks ago

      This comment is below the standard viewing threshold View It »

      Remeber...the NSC is the White House Cabal
      CABAL:
      a clique (often secret) that seeks power usually through intrigue
      conspire: engage in plotting or enter into a conspiracy, swear together; "They conspired to overthrow the government"
      conspiracy: a plot to carry out some harmful or illegal act (especially a political plot)
      wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

      (comment_max_expanded_depth : 2) (comment depth : 2) (recursion depth : 1) (max_comment_reply_depth : 40) (comment_max_render_depth : 3)
      Reply
      loading loading ...
      View All 2 Comments

      Add a Comment

      Sign In With Your Propeller Account

      Forgot your password?

      Please keep your comments relevant to this story.

      To create a live link, simply type the URL (including http://) or email address and we will make it a live link for you. You can put up to 3 URLs in your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br /> tags.