The US's 45-year history of torture

[ColbertWatcher]

From the Los Angeles Times
Opinion
U.S. has a 45-year history of torture
The difference between American involvement in South American atrocities in 1964 and 'enhanced interrogation' now is that some modern-day officials appear proud of themselves.
By A.J. Langguth
May 3, 2009

When OPS was launched under President Eisenhower, its mission sounded benign enough -- to increase the professionalism of the police of Asia, Africa and, particularly, Latin America. But its genial director, Byron Engle, was a CIA agent, and his program was part of a wider effort to identify receptive recruits among local populations.

Although Engle wanted to avoid having his unit exposed as a CIA front, in the public mind the separation was quickly blurred. Dan Mitrione, for example, a police advisor murdered by Uruguay's left-wing Tupamaros for his role in torture in that country, was widely assumed to be a CIA agent.

When Brazil seemed to tilt leftward after President Joao Goulart assumed power in 1961, the Kennedy administration grew increasingly troubled. Robert Kennedy traveled to Brazil to tell Goulart he should dismiss two of his Cabinet members, and the office of Lincoln Gordon, John Kennedy's ambassador to Brazil, became the hub for CIA efforts to destabilize Goulart's government.

On March 31, 1964, encouraged by U.S. military attache Vernon Walters, Brazilian Gen. Humberto Castelo Branco rose up against Goulart. Rather than set off a civil war, Goulart chose exile in Montevideo.

(more at the link)

--Los Angeles Times

[ProSense]

1. This is a snip from a post about Charles Krauthammer's defense of torture.

And second, the idea that torture is acceptable when officials believe a detainee has "high-value information likely to save lives" is a recipe for creating building-sized loopholes to laws prohibiting torture. Every government or terrorist network can justify all torture with such a ridiculous standard. The Japanese tortured in World War II because they thought they'd captured "a high-value enemy in possession of high-value information likely to save lives." Did that make it right? Did it stop us from labeling their conduct "war crimes"?

More here.

[ColbertWatcher]

2. Krauthammer is such an ass.

It seems like the GOP's only reason for speaking these days is to create doubt for their crimes. It's the legal equivalent of "nu-uh."

The GOP are still in the playground.

[spanone]

13. so mr krauthammer believes you can break laws at will? would he feel the same if dems tortured?

if bill clinton and administration members had tortured and lied about it, i'm sure krauthammer would have seen the wisdom of their ways.....:sarcasm:

[ColbertWatcher]

15. No kidding. n/t

[ColbertWatcher]

3. Monday morning kick. n/t

[Canuckistanian]

4. K&R

[Azooz]

5. K&R

[DutchLiberal]

6. Not getting many replies... DU likes to believe torture only started with Bush...

[Echo In Light]

7. K&R ....I've noticed that too

[ColbertWatcher]

8. Good point.

I think the reason the GOP-controlled media avoids discussing the U.S.'s involvement in Latin America (for instance) is because of what it will uncover.

The tangled webs and all.

[DutchLiberal]

10. That's also the reason why they will never explain why the political climate in Latin America...

...has turned so dramatically to the left in recent years. It's all a reaction to decades of U.S.-sponsored right-wing military or dictatorial rule. I saw a film last week about the impact the 1973 coup against Allende had on regular people. It was terrible. It's called Machuca (2004). You might want to check it out.

[ColbertWatcher]

11. I hear that Obama just recently received a book as a gift that supposed to be pretty good. n/t

[DutchLiberal]

12. Yes, during the infamous meeting with Chavez that drove the righties nuts,.,,

[ColbertWatcher]

14. Yup! That's the one!

http://powells.com/biblio/2-9780853459910-0">"Open Veins of Latin America: Five Centuries of the Pillage of a Continent" by Uruguayan writer Eduardo Galeano.

[islandgirl808]

9. kick

:kick: