Eric Holder troubled by excessive use of water in waterboarding sessions during Bush years

[Becky72]

From yesterday's LA Times:

Subtitle: "Insiders say Atty. Gen. Eric Holder is close to naming a prosecutor to look into reports of excessive waterboarding and other unauthorized methods. Convictions could be hard to get."

...

The inspector general also voiced alarm over how much water was being used. Rather than dripping liquid from a canteen, as the 2002 memo envisioned, CIA interrogators "applied large volumes of water," raising questions about whether the method "was either efficacious or medically safe." Because of such documented discrepancies, Justice Department officials and legal experts regard the waterboarding abuses as cases that hold the most promise for prosecution.

Digby, filling in for Glen Greenwald, reacts today:

I think we can all see the problem here, can't we? By prosecuting waterboarding "abuses" we are essentially declaring waterboarding under John Yoo's only slightly less sadistic guidelines to be legal. Evidently, the new standard will be that if you're going to torture, you'd better do it right.

[librechik]

1. what a mess

too bad nobody in the DOJ seems to have a lick of moral sense.

[mod mom]

2. Digby on Holder's "narrow investigation":

"We weren't sure he was going to even go this far, but according to news reports over the weekend, Attorney General Holder has decided on a "narrow" investigation into torture. In fact, it's so narrow that it won't investigate any of the torture that was authorized by DOJ functionary John Yoo at all. Using inverted pretzel logic, they are apparently going to go after those who failed to follow John Yoo's directives."

Holder is a big disappointment. On this, Seigelmann and in general on "rule of law" issues!

[BlooInBloo]

4. I don't see that on Digby's front page. Is that old? Got a link?

[Becky72]

7. Digby is filling in for Glen Greenwald, who is on vacation. Go to Greenwald's site

http://salon.com/opinion/greenwald

[BlooInBloo]

10. Ah yes - I had forgotten about his all-star lineup - thanks!

[mod mom]

8. It's from the link in the OP:

but here it is anyway:

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/08/10/torture/index.html

[BlooInBloo]

11. Roger that - was looking at the replies more than the OP - oops!

[Supersedeas]

9. Gonzo, Bybee, Addington and Yoo just received a full exoneration

[leveymg]

3. If we can cut through the spin and double-talk, waterboarding was used to kill brain cells

and destroy memory, rendering the testimony of those waterboarded less detailed and credible.

What were the recollections that the Bush-Cheney interrogators so badly wanted to clean out when they brainwashed these particular high-value detainees?

[Rex]

5. So there is such a thing as too much torture?

Ugh...my country sucks...someone get me a new one with at least a pinch of morals and maybe a value or two.

[Supersedeas]

16. A Nation of Cowards demands to know.

[Karenina]

6. Ya know, I clicked this certain it was brain candy from "The Onion."

I'm SeRIES111!! :crazy:

[timeforpeace]

12. Eric Holder, waterboarding expert: "Hey, that's too much water! Back it off a bit."

[EFerrari]

13. Excessive waterboarding?

OMFG

[walldude]

18. My thought exactly.

Isn't any waterboarding excessive? :crazy:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

21. Kind of like, "immoderate rape" or "extravagent arson".

[Wilms]

14. Yep.

Let's just prosecute the ones who were following orders too much. :grr:

[Vidar]

15. Holder is certainly a worthy successor to Gonzales.

[DCKit]

17. It's a conservation issue folks, not about torture and war crimes at all. n/t

[Bluenorthwest]

19. Holder is a sick puppy

That is just frightening talk.

[CrispyQ]

20. This should be at the top of the Greatest page.

k&r