It seems clear to me that his statement was not hypothetical. His statement of a phone call from an Afghan safehouse is definetly a declaritive statement, even if the sentence prior to it was a hypothetical. But the media has treated it the way Salim and others have said it can be construed, as a hypothetical statement. If it's a hypothetical statement, and that's the way the media has treated it, there is no story here. There is no GOTCHA, because the media has already given Mukasey a free pass on it. Even if the media was to treat the statement the way it should be treated, as a declarative statement, it won't generate coverage. Not with the Patreaus hearings today. So either way, there is no hope that this story will get the coverage it rightly deserves.

Thanks for that link Bucky. Has anyone read the book "The Lies of George W. Bush" by David Corn? I remember something he wrote about the Bushies. They lie even when telling the truth would suit them better. Of course David's a liberal and we all know how unserious and partisan they are. So the corporate media still reports with a straight faced anything these serial liars have to say. So Mukasey has been caught in a lie. Just one of many Bushies have been caught in and will get another free pass on. Nothing to see here folks, move along.

The biggest obstacle to this story getting the coverage it deserves is obviously the Patreaus hearings. No reporter will pick up the story tomorrow, because by then it's yesterday's news. The news cycle has moved on, you can't report yesterday's news today. This is what happened to the Downing Street Memo's and a host of other important stories. Because they didn't "click" the day they came out, the media failed to cover them.

This was a great article but I wonder how many Americans will actually care. How many are like Elephantmoron, that believe its necessary? So what if some innocent people get tortured, it's for the greater good. If it saves one life then it will be worth it, right elephantdung? Dick Cheney was one of the forces behind this torture regime. A clearly evil person if there ever was one. Yet last night while watching Lewis Black's "Root of All Evil" on comedy central, something amazing happened. For those unfamiliar with the show, it's like a debate. 2 stand up comics deliver arguments as to why topic A or topic B are the "root of all evil". Lewis is the judge and makes the final verdict. Last night it was Paris Hilton vs Darth Cheney. The viewing audience can vote via text messaging and the results are shown during the credits. Obviously you'd think no contest, Dick Cheney right? WRONG The viewing audience voted Paris Hilton 51% to 49% Cheney. So in a country that thinks Paris Hilton is more evil then Cheney, does anyone think people care about torture?

You are correct elephantdung, the US did not torture Maher Arar. Our gov't just flew him to Egypt and had them do it for us. Does that distinction make you feel all good inside? Do you think it absolves the US in Maher Arar's torture? If you do, you are idiot.

Yes on his way out the door Bush will issue blanket pardons for everyone in his administration. But who will pardon Bush? I guess he won't have to worry about anyone testifying against him in exchange for a lesser sentence. If everyone's been pardoned, there is no threat of jail time so that possibility is removed. So Bush is going to skate and we the taxpayers will pay for his pension, healthcare, and security til the day he dies. Isn't that great?

As for Yoo, it's disgusting that Berkeley is saying they won't fire him. I would think having a war criminal teach at your school, wouldn't be something you'd want. But since America has descended into the sewer, I guess it doens't matter anymore. Hell it's probably a draw to get conservative students to attend the school. Learn from the man who legalized torture. Republican scum will jump at the chance. It's also a handy defense against perceptions of liberal bias at Berkeley. We ain't liberal, we have war criminals on our staff. You can't get anymore anti-liberal then that.

When I heard sound clips in the news earlier this week of people in SF protesting human rights abuses in China, I felt disgust that the protesters weren't also screaming about the abuses committed by their own government. Such moral blindness, ignorance, and hypocrisy. We've become a nation of Good Germans turning a blind eye to the administration's Little Eichmanns.-- lichen

I agree with your sentiment but would like to point something out. If those same protesters had signs protesting America's torture of detainees, the media wouldn't cover it. It's funny how the media can cover protests against the Olympic torch, but when hundreds of thousands march against the war no coverage. Or if it is covered at all, it's treated like a big joke. On the 5th annniversary of the Iraq war, CNN's only coverage was provided by Jeanne Moos. She's the reporter that does the tongue-in-cheek ain't that funny reports. Check out her report by clicking on my signature.