WP: Gonzales Nomination Draws Military Criticism

[DeepModem Mom]

Gonzales Nomination Draws Military Criticism
Retired Officers Cite His Role in Shaping Policies on Torture

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 4, 2005; Page A02


A dozen high-ranking retired military officers took the unusual step yesterday of signing a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee expressing "deep concern" over the nomination of White House counsel Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general, marking a rare military foray into the debate over a civilian post.

The group includes retired Army Gen. John M. Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The officers are one of several groups to separately urge the Senate to sharply question Gonzales during a confirmation hearing Thursday about his role in shaping legal policies on torture and interrogation methods....

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The letter signed by the retired officers, compiled by the group Human Rights First and sent to the committee's leadership last night, criticizes Gonzales for his role in reviewing and approving a series of memorandums arguing, among other things, that the United States could lawfully ignore portions of the Geneva Conventions and that some forms of torture "may be justified" in the war on terror....

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A number of other groups are gearing up this week to criticize or oppose Gonzales's nomination. The American Civil Liberties Union -- which has forced the release of hundreds of pages of records documenting apparent abuses in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay -- said in a news release yesterday that the Senate should sharply question Gonzales about detainee issues as well as his close ties to President Bush.

Another organization of liberal religious leaders plans to release a letter today calling on Gonzales to "denounce the use of torture under any circumstances."...


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45727-2005Jan3.html