Why would the prosecution of war criminals and torturers be a partisan witchhunt?

On one hand, this way of perceiving the situation shows how tone-deaf and morally corrupt our entire national leadership has become, as it finds itself incapable of addressing evil.

On the other hand, there are plenty of Democrats that could be indicted or implicated, as well. Key Democrats were "read into" the Bush torture program. Additionally, the use of torture by U.S. military and intelligence agencies goes back many decades, and includes both Republican and Democratic administrations.

For example, a "truth commission" would look at both the use of torture and assassination in the Phoenix Program run under the Johnson administration, as well as the current program of Bush/Cheney/Addington, etc.

This either transcends normal Beltway politics, or the corrosive effects of the evil of torture will continue to eat away at the foundations of civil society, until the moral authority of this republic is totally emptied, and like the great Soviet Union it once faced collapse spectacularly from the loss of trust and belief in a system completely compromised and bound to evil.

The Army Field Manual has an appendix -- Appendix M -- which allows "touchless" forms of torture such as isolation, sleep deprivation, "fear up harsh", and perceptual deprivation. The fact some of these techniques may need "approval" does not change their coercive and inhumane aspect. In fact, they constitute the core coercive program of Guantanamo, now enshrined in the AFM for "enemy combatants".

Therefore, a portion of the AFM is in violation of Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, if not the UN Convention on Torture.

Glenn, I'm surprised you have not seen this. For all readers, a discussion of these issues, including a discussion with Physicians for Human Rights on this issue, can be found at:

http://www.neverinournames.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=391 and http://valtinsblog.blogspot.com/2008/02/wages-of-fear-what-waterboarding-debate.html

Appendix M (and the full AFM) can be read at this link:

http://www.fas.org/irp/doddir/army/fm2-22-3.pdf

Don't fall for the bait and switch on the AFM. The CIA may ask for more, but they can live with the AFM as constituted. It is not that far different than the style of psychological torture they developed in the KUBARK interrogation manual, and causes lasting psychological harm to prisoners.

Why is this important? Because the timeline does not begin in February 2002, with Bush's negation of Geneva for Al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners. In this, you follow the mainstream media's reporting.

I have communicated with Senator Levin directly, and he corroborated something I suspected and what appears clearly in the report: that DoD, in the person of Richard Shiffrin, who worked for Haynes, who worked for Rumsfeld, contacted the Pentagon's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency for help using their SERE program to reverse-engineer interrogation methods for the "exploitation" of prisoners.

This is all clearly laid out in the declassified report, which I wonder if you have actually read yet. The different timelines matter, as the Bush administration lacks even the figleaf of legal cover for these contacts, which easily would be prosecutable by the conspiracy to commit torture portion of the torture statute (TITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 113C > § 2340A, Para. C).

The ACLU apparently has seen the significance of this, as their press release on Dec. 11 indicates:

“The committee report makes clear the role of top White House and Defense Department officials in authorizing torture and abuse,” added Christopher Anders, ACLU Senior Legislative Counsel. “It also includes a startling new fact, which is that a top Defense Department official was inquiring into methods of torture and abuse more than a month before President Bush ordered that the Geneva Conventions would not apply to the detainees. There is now a whole new question that an independent prosecutor should investigate on whether the president’s order taking away Geneva Conventions protections was part of a scheme to engage in illegal torture that was already being explored.”

URL for the ACLU press release:

http://aclu.org/safefree/general/38062prs20081211.html

URL for the blogger who exposed the timeline issue six months ago:

http://valtinsblog.blogspot.com/2008/06/media-govt-torture-cover-up-sen-levin.html

I hope you will update your coverage and support the ACLU call for an independent prosecutor.

I wrote in my earlier comment:

I have communicated with Senator Levin directly, and he corroborated something I suspected and what appears clearly in the report: that DoD, in the person of Richard Shiffrin, who worked for Haynes, who worked for Rumsfeld, contacted the Pentagon's Joint Personnel Recovery Agency for help using their SERE program to reverse-engineer interrogation methods for the "exploitation" of prisoners.

I unintentionally left out that the earlier contact occurred in December 2001, per the testimony of Lt. Col. Dan Baumgartner to the Senate committee. We also know about the contact from one declassified document, a fax cover sheet, with a note on it from Baumgartner to Richard Shiffrin. Presumably the faxed material was info from JPRA re SERE interrogation methods. The document remains classified, and may include references to other government agencies, e.g., the CIA, Special Forces, etc.

From the declassified fax, Dec. 2001, i.e., over a month before Bush was to deny "enemy combatant" detainees the coverage of Geneva:

Mr. Shiffrin --

Here's our spin on exploitation. If you need experts to facilitate this process, we stand ready to assist. There are not many in DoD outside of JPRA that have the level of expertise we do in exploitation and how to resist it.

I knew this amounted to overt legal exposure last summer. The position of the ACLU, calling for an independent prosecutor, in part because of the revelation of just this information, needs all of our support.

Glenn, the ball's in your court here!