The Tortured Memos (NYT)

[struggle4progress]

Editorial
The Tortured Memos
Published: March 3, 2009

... We were horrified to be reminded that the nation still has not plumbed the depths of the Bush administration’s abuses. At the same time, it was a relief to see President Obama beginning to make good on his promise of greater transparency.

While the C.I.A.’s admission was made in legal proceedings, the government voluntarily released the Justice Department memos. A lot more transparency is needed. The documents do not include memos justifying harsh interrogations nor those justifying Mr. Bush’s decision to authorize illegal eavesdropping on Americans.

The Bush administration admitted last year that the chief of the spy agency’s clandestine service had ordered the destruction of tapes showing the interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects, who may have been subject to the torture technique known as waterboarding.

But the Central Intelligence Agency redacted the number of tapes destroyed when it provided an accounting for a federal lawsuit that seeks release of its interrogation records. On Monday, the Justice Department said there were 92 — a stunning amount of evidence-shredding that needs further scrutiny ...

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/opinion/04wed1.html?_r=1&em

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R