“Rumsfeld is Responsible for Torturing Prisoners” concludes Congressional Report
The Senate Armed Services Committee released a report yesterday pointing a finger at the White House regarding prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay and in Iraq. I, for one, am furious that these war crimes were initiated at the highest levels of government. It is inhumane and it does not represent what America should stand for as a nation and symbol for the rest of the world.
I find the timing of the release of this report rather odd. My suspicion is that, like so many other important issues, this matter will be overlooked while America focuses on the inane spectacle of corruption in Illinois involving the soon-to-be-ex governor of that state.
Coming as no surprise to anybody capable of coherent thought, the report, Senate Armed Services Committee Inquiry into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody made several findings of note:
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques for use at Guantanamo Bay was a direct cause of detainee abuse there.
- GTMO Commander Major General Geoffrey Miller encouraged a view that interrogators should be more aggressive during detainee interrogations.
- Interrogation policies approved by Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez, which included the use of military working dogs and stress positions, were a direct cause of detainee abuse in Iraq.
- Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s December 2, 2002 authorization of aggressive interrogation techniques and subsequent interrogation policies and plans approved by senior military and civilian officials conveyed the message that physical pressures and degradation were appropriate treatment for detainees in U.S. military custody.
So the question is this: WIll Rumsfeld, Sanchez, Miller and other war criminals be brought to justice? My suspicion is that this report, like so many others, will be filed and forgotten.
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