Andrew Sullivan is circling in on an answer:
GENEVA SUSPENDED: We have new evidence that president Bush's suspension of the ban on torture under the Geneva Conventions and under American law was ordered over the objections of the judge advocate generals (JAGs) for the Army, Air Force and Marines. Money quote:A law enacted in 1994 bars torture by U.S. military personnel anywhere in the world. But the Pentagon working group's 2003 report, prepared under the supervision of general counsel William J. Haynes II, said that "in order to respect the President's inherent constitutional authority to manage a military campaign ... [the prohibition against torture] must be construed as inapplicable to interrogations undertaken pursuant to his Commander-in-Chief authority." Haynes -- through Daniel J. Dell'Orto, principal deputy general counsel for the Defense Department -- wrote a memo March 17 that rescinded the working group's report, and Dell'Orto confirmed that withdrawal yesterday at the hearing. According to a copy of the memo obtained by The Washington Post, the general counsel's office determined that the report "does not reflect now-settled executive branch views of the relevant law."Notice how broad the original exception was. It legalized torture anywhere for any POWs - not just enemy combatants - if the president so ordered. And we now have a precedent that would permit even legitimate U.S. POWs to be tortured in retaliation. We had a president declaring himself above the law, and he got his legal lackey, Alberto Gonzales, to rubber-stamp it. Does any sane person really believe that president Bush's personal suspension of the law against torture had nothing to do with the abuses that followed in every single theater of the war on terror? Or that his decision hasn't put U.S. soldiers now and in the future at greater risk even in conventional combat? Notice also how the military's legal representatives opposed it. The secretary of state opposed it. This was Bush's choice. The line from Abu Ghraib and Gitmo to the White House is perfectly straight. And people are fixating on Karl Rove?
You can find Sullivan's Blog here.
-The Oklahoma Hippy
Hippy,
ReplyDeleteThe Facts seem to point more towards Novac being the culprit in this leak scenario, what say you?
No, the facts as they've been reported still seem to indicate that rove was shopping this info around.
ReplyDeleteAll the NYT story really said was that Novak called to confirm this with Rove.
But, keep in mind that is what HE told the grand jury.
Fitzgerald isn't a stupid guy. He's a republican appointed special prosecutor known for being fair and tough.
He wouldn't be chasing this down as hard as he is if there wasn't a serious crime that had been committed.
Ultimately what it comes down to is that there are probably several different people who are looking at perjury and obstruction charges.
Novak may very well be one of them. Judy miller may very well be one of them. Rove is certainly one of them. Ari Fleischer may be one of them. Scooter Libby may be one of them. Scott McClellan may very well be one of them.
If I understand everything correctly, there seems to be indications that Novak coordinated his story with people in the White House before testifying, and that may be what nails everyone.
We'll see what happens because most of this is conjecture at this point.
Rove keeps changing his stories about the leak. Remember, he's testified *three* times before a grand jury. I think he's on the verge of being indicted for obstruction of justice, at the least.
ReplyDeleteSure, Novak might be an instigator also. So could Dick Cheney, so could John Bolton. Remember, there were *two* administration sources who leaked the CIA operative's name.
Also, being from Illinois, I'm familiar with the special prosecutor who's investigating this. He's the one who nailed former Illinois Gov. George Ryan and several dozen of his cronies in the bribes-for-driver's-licenses scandal. He's a bulldog, and there are a *lot* of people in Washington shaking in their shoes because of his reputation.
I found out recently that former Attorney General John Ashcroft was the one who appointed Patrick Fitzgerald as special prosecutor in the leak case. Ashcroft had a falling-out with Bush before he resigned. It makes me wonder whether Ashcroft appointed Fitzgerald as a subtle way to screw his old boss. Ashcroft was known as a hardball politician; such a scenario for revenge would hardly be implausible.
Karl Rove will be charged at least for defrauding the government, using the resources of his job to do non-job-related things.
ReplyDeleteRegarding the appointment of Patrick Fitzgerald. I have been saying from about the time Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed that it was because John Ashcroft and James Comey decided not to participate in the cover-up. I think what Comey said at his announcement of the appointment of Fitzgerald was truthful -- unlike a Bushist lie it makes sense. He and Ashcroft got a briefing from their investigation group that made them say 'Uh oh'. What exactly the briefing said I don't know, but it made their hair stand on end. So Ashcroft recused himself and Comey appointed a prosecutor _who did not need to ask Comey for permissions_ to do what needed to be done. And Comey made an appointment that would not bring shame upon him and Ashcroft. Their hands were clean.
The short version of this, in my parlance, is that Ashcroft threw Bush to the wolves.
Nice post on the 12th about Fitzgerald on one of your blogs, Barry. I surfed over to one of your blogs and checked it out.
ReplyDeleteWe have torture going on mainly because Bush is sadistic. Sadism is one of the symptoms of his Narcissistic Personality Disorder. He demeans others to enhance his own narcissistic 'reflection'. We saw this when he mocked Karla Faye Tucker, after letting her believe until the end that there was any chance she might be spared. It is why Bush set records for executions. He is a dangerously ill man, who should have been hospitalized as a danger to himself and others, the moment he won the governorship of Texas.
ReplyDeleteInteresting...Oh and it appears Hippy you and I have a few more things in common. My fiance hails from a city called Moore I believe that is near Oklahoma City. Here in a few weeks we will be having a post nuptual gathering there with her family after we wed in Worchester, any suggestions on good restaurants?
ReplyDeleteRokem, I would recommend the Cattleman's Steakhouse unequivocably.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cattlemensrestaurant.com/history.htm
Rokem-
ReplyDeleteIt depends on what you're in the mood for and how far you want to go.
For Italian, I reccommend Papa Dio's on N. May (a little hard to find but well worth it). Zio's in Bricktown is also very good.
Bricktown has a lot to offer for almost any palette, but it can get very crowded on the weekends. Lots of people enjoy the atmosphere and there's a wide variety of things to do.
For Mexican, the answer, hands down, is Ted's Cafe Escondido. The original is located around N.W. 65th and May, but there's one much closer to more on S.W. 89th Street, just south of I-240.
For Chinese, you could go all the way up to Quail Springs Mall and hit P.F. Chang's or, for a buffet, I like Golden Palace in Midwest City.
For an excellent burger, Johnny's should be perfect. They have several locations in the OKC area.
For a very nice lunch, The Bean Counter (on S.E. 89th and Sooner) has some very nice lunch specials, that you can check out at www.okccofee.com.
If you like a particular type of food not listed here (I just covered the basics), just post it, and I'll suggest something. The Hippy and I both like food a lot, so we have favorites in just about every type of food. Most of them are in OKC, but Moore is practically a suburb, between OKC and Norman, so the drive shouldn't be too bad no matter where you want to go.
Congrats on your upcoming nuptials!
-The Hippy's Wife :)
Thanks for the tips, but I think my wife and I have settled on the 'Pepperoni Grill'. Apparantly she's been there before and her family really likes it. Have you heard anything about that one? She said it was in a mall of somekind, Pennsquare I believe.
ReplyDeleteOh! And do you and The Hippy use the email address that is in your profile? If so I was going to send you an evite.
I like Pepperoni Grill, and Penn Square is correct. I've been there a couple of times, and it's was pretty good. It's been awhile, so I can't remember what I had, or I would give a suggestion on what to order. I'm sure you'll have a lovely time.
ReplyDeleteYou can use the e-mail my hubby provided in the other post or ladybugfaerie@cheerful.com.
I'm glad you think us worthy of an invite. Enjoy your time in Oklahoma, and again, congrats!
-The Hippy's Wife :)