Joe Wilson: Come Out of Hiding, Bush

[babylonsister]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-05-10/investigate-torture-for-bushs-sake/


Come Out of Hiding, Bush

by Joseph C. Wilson IV


Former Ambassador Joe Wilson says a reticent President Bush should greet a torture probe with three familiar words: Bring it on!



George W. Bush has now raised $100 million for his presidential library. He clearly is of the view that he has a lot to be proud of and not much to be ashamed of. Why not clear the air on this torture question so that his reputation does not suffer further? Former CIA Director Mike Hayden is flat silly when he asserts that somehow we give our enemies comfort by divulging what we did when we were “terrified.” Transparency is a hallmark of our system of governance.

“Don’t they understand that the absence of transparency guarantees that there is a cloud over the Bush White House, just as Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said there was a “cloud” over Vice President Dick Cheney after the conviction of his chief of staff, Scooter Libby, in the case involving the betrayal of the identity of a covert CIA officer, Valerie Plame Wilson, my wife?”

Yet former Bush administration officials and their defenders are increasingly shrill in their efforts to thwart either a domestic or an international investigation into their use of torture as an instrument of foreign policy. We have learned in recent days that waterboarding, a torture technique recognized as such since the Spanish Inquisition, was used on suspected al Qaeda terrorists, not to save Los Angeles from a nuclear attack a la the TV torture-porn series 24, but rather to provide substance to Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld’s fantasy that there was a link between al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein to justify the invasion of Iraq.

We have also learned from video of Condeleezza Rice’s appearances at two schools that the administration was “terrified” in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, as if that were sufficient rationale for breaking U.S. and international law. Of course, she then qualified her response by adding that because the president authorized the actions, they must be legal, confusing the constitutional rule of law with the views of Louis XIV and Richard Nixon.

Finally, we have on The Washington Post editorial page former Representative to the United Nations John Bolton harrumphing that any investigation into war crimes or crimes against humanity under U.S. law and treaties to which the U.S. is signatory is simply “criminalizing policy differences” and is “both inappropriate and counterproductive.”

So what are the Bushies afraid of? If they did nothing wrong, or if they were misled by their attorneys, why would they fear shining the light of day on their foray to the “dark side?” Why do they lobby so hard, even out of office, to shape Justice Department internal inquiries if they really did nothing wrong? Don’t they understand that the absence of transparency guarantees that there is a cloud over the Bush White House, just as Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald said there was a “cloud” over Vice President Dick Cheney after the conviction of his chief of staff, Scooter Libby, in the case involving the betrayal of the identity of a covert CIA officer, Valerie Plame Wilson, my wife?

Rather than lobbying the Justice Department behind closed doors, George W. Bush and his team ought to welcome an official inquiry into their activities. For one, it would clarify what exactly happened on their watch and why. Second, the nation and the world would be able finally to move beyond the breathless debate over whether the United States condones action prohibited by both U.S. and international law, and coddles suspects in these crimes. What has Bush/Cheney brought us to that we could actually be having such a debate? Finally, it would put to rest all the speculation that the Bush administration might actually have committed war crimes.

The assertion on the table is that George Bush is the first president ever to authorize what George Washington outlawed during the Revolutionary War—torture. It is a serious charge and he should welcome an investigation. What does he have to fear? Whatever happened to “bring it on?”

[Kali]

1. zing!

"confusing the constitutional rule of law with the views of Louis XIV and Richard Nixon."

[bdamomma]

2. cheney gave george his orders, to keep his mouth shut.

[babylonsister]

3. So you're saying Bush isn't responsible for any of this?

That's not a great argument and I don't buy it. The 'president' is answerable for what happened during his time in office.

[bdamomma]

5. oh of course both cheney and bush are responsible for this

along with other key members of their regime. But who has been spewing up his BS for the last couple of months, Cheney has.

[mmonk]

4. Recommended.

[No Elephants]

6. As my dear son observed, the donors are the ones for whom Bush made billions during his

Presidency.




To President Dummy-ya, On the occasion of his library fund-raising success (Hardly required any modifications. Paul Simon must have had a crystal ball!


And here's to you, President Dummy-ya,
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo wo wo).
God bless you, please, President Dummy-ya,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray (Hey hey hey, hey hey hey).

We'd like to know
A little bit about you
For our files.
We'd like to help you learn
To help yourself.
Look around you. All you see
Are sympathetic eyes.
Stroll around the grounds
Until you feel at home.

And here's to you, President Dummy-ya,
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo wo wo).
God bless you, please, President Dummy-ya,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray (Hey hey hey, hey hey hey).

Hide it in a hiding place
Where no one ever goes.
Put it in your pantry with your pretzels.
It's a little secret,
Just the Publicans' affair.
Most of all, you've got to hide it
from the Hague.

Coo coo ca-choo, President Dummy-ya,
Jesus loves you more than you will know (Wo wo wo).
God bless you, please, President Dummy-ya,
Heaven holds a place for those who pray (Hey hey hey, hey hey hey).

Falling off a sofa
On a Sunday afternoon,
Going to the candidates' debate,
Laugh about it,
Shout about it,
When you've got to choose,
Every way you look at it, we lose.

Where have you gone, President Dummy-ya?
A nation turns its lonely eyes to you (Woo woo woo).
What's that you say, President Dummy-ya?
"Joltin' George has left and gone away" (Hey hey hey, hey hey hey).




We should be so lucky. The stench and damage will be around forever.

[malaise]

7. Joe Wilson nails it

although I wish they would all hide.

[kentuck]

8. Bush will never show his face again...

He will let history decide. Cheney is the only one worried. Not Bush.

[No Elephants]

10. No, we'll just see headlines about donations to his library and how much everyone loves him..

[No Elephants]

9. First, the UN Convention Against Torture addressed Condi's excuse in

great detail:

"Definition of torture
Article 1 of the Convention defines torture as:

Any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

– Convention Against Torture, Article 1.1

Actions which fall short of torture may still constitute cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under Article 16."



"Ban on torture and cruel and degrading treatment
Article 2 of the convention prohibits torture, and requires parties to take effective measures to prevent it in any territory under its jurisdiction. This prohibition is absolute and non-derogable. "No exceptional circumstances whatsoever"<5> may be invoked to justify torture, including war, threat of war, internal political instability, public emergency, terrorist acts, violent crime, or any form of armed conflict.<6> Torture cannot be justified as a means to protect public safety or prevent emergencies.<6> Neither can it be justified by orders from superior officers or public officials.<7> The prohibition on torture applies to all territories under a party's effective jurisdiction, and protects all people under its effective control, regardless of citizenship or how that control is exercised.<6> Since the Conventions entry into force, this absolute prohibition has become accepted as a principle of customary international law.<6>

Because it is often difficult to distinguish between cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and torture, the Committee regards Article 16's prohibition of such treatment as similarly absolute and non-derogable.<6>

The other articles of part I lay out specific obligations intended to implement this absolute prohibition by preventing, investigating and punishing acts of torture.<6>" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_Convention_Against_Torture

Second, Condi had NO BUSINESS teaching fourth graders that the end justifies the means. NONE. If I were the parent of one of those kids, I'd demand an apology from Condi and from the school, for having a war criminal lecturing my kid.






Now, to President Obama and his administration: (same source)

The Covenant follows the structure of the UDHR and ICCPR, with a preamble and 33 articles, divided into three parts:

Part I (Articles 1-16) defines torture (Article 1), and commits parties to taking effective measures to prevent any act of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction (Article 2). These include ensuring that torture is a criminal offence (Article 4), establishing jurisdiction over acts of torture committed by or against a party's citizens (Article 5), ensuring that torture is an extraditable offence (Article 8), and establishing universal jurisdiction to try cases of torture where an alleged torturer cannot be extradited (Article 5). Parties must promptly investigate any allegation of torture (Articles 12 & 13), and victims of torture must have an enforceable right to compensation (Article 14). Parties must also ban the use of evidence produced by torture in their courts (Article 15), and are barred from deporting, extraditing or refouling people where there are substantial grounds for believing they will be tortured (Article 3).

Parties are also obliged to prevent other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, and to investigate any allegation of such treatment within their jurisdiction (Article 16).

Part II (articles 17 - 24) governs reporting and monitoring of the Convention and the steps taken by the parties to implement it. It establishes the Committee against Torture (Article 17), and empowers it to investigate allegations of systematic torture (Article 20). It also establishes an optional dispute-resolution mechanism between parties (Articles 21) and allows parties to recognise the competence of the Committee to hear complaints from individuals about violations of the Convention by a party (Article 22).

[DCKit]

11. Wow, Joe the Plumber is a lot smarter than I gave him credit for.

Kidding, folks, but somebody had to say it. The comparison is just too damn funny.

vs.