One thing we are definitely learning as this scandal unfolds, is that power doesn't merely corrupt, at least not in the higher echelons of the U.S. government, where American Exceptionalism™ reigns supreme...

Rather, it appears that such unbounded power either attracts or creates sadists. One cannot put too fine a point on it.

The principals in the White House directing torture via remote connection with prison sites, the OLC memo's authors torturing language, in order to legitimize the future torture of detainees not yet captured, and then... the likes of Wolfowitz, a total incompetent even on GWB's agenda... every single one of them now qualifies-- even if they didn't before-- as a sadist. Period.

They should be required to wear a large scarlet S, rather than one of those ubiquitous flag pins.

everyone has missed the point. forget the so called "intelligence" even if 9/11 never took place there still would have been an american invasion and occupation force in iraq. there should be no doubt that this was the plan from the outset. which is why bush,cheney,rumsfeld,rove,wolfowitz,rice,and powell should stand trial as a conspiracy of war criminals, and be publicly EXECUTED as such. thats right. I said EXECUTED. think of what a great morale boost it would be. payback for billion's of dollars wasted, and thousands of lives destroyed.

when you hand the keys of the national car to sociopaths?

i would recommend democracy, once again, but it is abundantly clear that a large percentage of the american electorate gets a thrill from reading about, better seeing clips, of torture.

"you get the government you deserve" is true, and half of america is well-pleased that middle-eastern people, indeed, foreigners in general, are being treated in a way that would not be tolerated by the spca, were the victims dogs.

Saying Iraq had the "potential for weapons of mass destruction" is not same as saying they had them. You really can't see the difference?

The Albright link you provided had no quote from her claiming that Iraq had WMD. It did, however, allow you to include another link to your Clinton-bashing web site. (He's the husband in the domain name.)

As for extraordinary rendition, look into operation Goldenrod, during the Reagan years. No need for a FOIA request:

http://www.fbi.gov/page2/sept04/yachted091504.htm

If Clinton is guilty of any crimes, prosecute him too. Don't use it as an excuse to not punish others. We don't set one murderer free because there are others, now do we?

must be the talking point Fox put out for the day.

Admiral Blair's full comment (which right wingers are not correctly quoting) includes this:

"The information gained from these techniques was valuable in some instances, but there is no way of knowing whether the same information could have been obtained through other means," Admiral Blair said in a written statement issued last night. "The bottom line is these techniques have hurt our image around the world, the damage they have done to our interests far outweighed whatever benefit they gave us and they are not essential to our national security."

So, Blair is ACTUALLY saying that the tactics were WRONG and WORKED AGAINST OUR NATIONAL INTEREST.

so go fuck yourself, all you who want to make torture the law of the land.

I am amazed at how Freeper trolls just KNOW what are inside of other people's minds.

Go crawl back to your tea parties...

According to the information provided in this latest conspiracy theory from salon;

1) "Mr. Becker recalled MG Dunlavey had advised him that the office of Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz had called to express concerns about the insufficient intelligence production at GTMO"

2) "MG Dunlavey told the committee that he could not recall ever having a phone call with Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz or his staff"

Of course, to a salonista, statement 1 must obviously be correct, and statement 2, false. This used to be referred to as "blame America first".

Doesn't matter, it's enough for salon to launch yet another paranoid conspiracy theory.

I can understand salon's desperation, given that their recent false claim "torture never works" has been debunked.

But, salon should wait awhile before further digging a hole for themselves. . . maybe hire some new writers. I heard the baghdad diarist is available.

See the Salonistas run.

"Connecting the dots is getting pretty easy here. These criminals must not be let off the hook. This is not retribution. It is preventive medicine. And it is called protecting the Constitution, something none of these four ever felt bound by. "No man is above the law." This is not a partisan statement; it is an essential American value."

If that is not a partisan statement, then I assume you would also include Clinton and members of his administration on your list. After all, it was Clinton that enacted the extraordinary rendition program in 1995. Michael Scheuer, the CIA agent who implemented the program, says that torture took place during the Clinton years. Daniel Benajmin, who served on Clinton NSC team, noted in the Washington Post that about 70 renditions took place prior to 9/11, most of which occurred under Clinton.

Maybe someone at Salon can file a FOIA request to get Clinton administration memos regarding Clinton's extraordinary rendition program and the use of torture.

Connecting the dots is getting pretty easy here. These criminals must not be let off the hook. This is not retribution. It is preventive medicine. And it is called protecting the Constitution, something none of these four ever felt bound by. "No man is above the law." This is not a partisan statement; it is an essential American value.

"5) The reasoning behind going to Iraq appears now to not only be very premeditated, but also completely false: the causes were so thin and non-existent that the administration was willing to violate the Geneva conventions in order to produce false confessions. That is absolutely mind-blowing."

If that is the case, how would you explain the Clinton administration's claims about Iraq? They cited an al Qaeda-Iraq link in thier 1998 indictment against bin Laden. They cited the same link when they bombed the Sudanese aspirin factory in August 1998.

Madeleine Albright was still claiming that Iraq had WMD during the transition period in January 2001.

http://www.sinsofthehusband.com/Albright-1-8-2001.pdf

Richard Holbrooke (who is now working for the Messiah) during the same said the following: "Saddam Hussein's activities continue to be unacceptable and, in my view, dangerous to the region and, indeed, to the world, not only because he possesses the potential for weapons of mass destruction but because of the very nature of his regime.... His willingness to be cruel internally is not unique in the world, but the combination of that and his willingness to export his problems makes him a clear and present danger at all times."

http://www.sinsofthehusband.com/Holbrooke-1-11-2001.pdf

If, as you claim, the case against Iraq was fabricated, then the fabrication began before Bush became president, as you suggest.