President Obama: On the Release of the Torture Memos

[chill_wind]

Obama on the Release of the Torture Memos
4/16/09, 3:01 pm EST

…My Administration will always act in accordance with those laws, and with an unshakeable commitment to our ideals. That is why we have released these memos, and that is why we have taken steps to ensure that the actions described within them never take place again….

The Department of Justice will today release certain memos issued by the Office of Legal Counsel between 2002 and 2005 as part of an ongoing court case. These memos speak to techniques that were used in the interrogation of terrorism suspects during that period, and their release is required by the rule of law.

My judgment on the content of these memos is a matter of record. In one of my very first acts as President, I prohibited the use of these interrogation techniques by the United States because they undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer. Enlisting our values in the protection of our people makes us stronger and more secure. A democracy as resilient as ours must reject the false choice between our security and our ideals, and that is why these methods of interrogation are already a thing of the past.

But that is not what compelled the release of these legal documents today. While I believe strongly in transparency and accountability, I also believe that in a dangerous world, the United States must sometimes carry out intelligence operations and protect information that is classified for purposes of national security. I have already fought for that principle in court and will do so again in the future. However, after consulting with the Attorney General, the Director of National Intelligence, and others, I believe that exceptional circumstances surround these memos and require their release.

First, the interrogation techniques described in these memos have already been widely reported. Second, the previous Administration publicly acknowledged portions of the program – and some of the practices – associated with these memos. Third, I have already ended the techniques described in the memos through an Executive Order. Therefore, withholding these memos would only serve to deny facts that have been in the public domain for some time. This could contribute to an inaccurate accounting of the past, and fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions taken by the United States.

more:

http://www.rollingstone.com/nationalaffairs/index.php/2009/04/16/obama-on-the-release-of-the-torture-memos/

[chill_wind]

1. Today-- the good men in government are winning. THANK YOU President Obama.

eom

[EFerrari]

2. Is there a doc dump somewhere?

Thanks for posting this, chill_wind. :hi:

[chill_wind]

3. I will look.

Hey! :hi:

[EFerrari]

6. I can't find anything yet at Justice or elsewhere. n/t

[Pirate Smile]

8. ACLU has all 4 - link below

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/pdf/OfficeofLegalCounsel_Aug2Memo_041609.pdf?sid=ST2009041602877


edit to add - ACLU has them here:

http://www.aclu.org/safefree/general/olc_memos.html

[EFerrari]

11. Thank you!

:applause:

[chill_wind]

12. Thanks for the quick link. A toast to President Obama and * to the ACLU,*

for their unflagging committement and pressure to expose the Bush Junta over these many years. No more hiding under the maggoty rocks.

[Maven]

4. So, do we know how much was redacted?

[Pirate Smile]

7. Daily Kos called them "minor".

[Maven]

9. Excellent news, thanks

[chill_wind]

5. AP: Obama Statement On Release of Torture Memos

Obama statement on release of torture memos

By The Associated Press – 21 minutes ago

Text of a written statement by President Barack Obama on Thursday's release of four significant memos written by the Bush administration in 2002 and 2005 on the interrogation of terror detainees:
___

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jmknnVn_33RuAF7ud-1ivw3Z2udQD97JOHV81

I haven't checked WH website yet.

[chill_wind]

10. NYT has it now. (link)

Following is President Obama's statement on the release of memos by the Office of Legal Counsel, as provided by the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/16/us/politics/16text-obama.html

[Fleshdancer]

13. MSNBC just described one of the techniques that I've never heard of before

Interrogators would place a travel pillow on a person's neck so he wouldn't get whiplash then they would repeatedly slam him against the wall. Apparently the sound of this action will put the person in shock.

:wtf:

I'm no expert when it comes to interrogation, but wouldn't one have a better chance of obtaining information if they didn't make the person they were interrogating go into shock?

[chill_wind]

15. Truly grotesque and ugly revelations..(Greenwald)

UPDATE: These memos are now becoming available, and do truly appear to be almost entirely unredacted. They are unbelievably ugly and grotesque and conclusively demonstrate the sadistic criminality that consumed our government. Just consider parts of this August 1, 2002 Memo (.pdf) by then OLC official (and now-federal judge) Jay Bybee, authorizing the following techniques for Abu Zubaydah, who was shot three times on his capture and still suffering from those wounds when these techniques were authorized (click on images to enlarge - it's worth it):

(see text image at his link)

"Walling" is slamming an individual into a wall. "Cramped confinement" means "placement of the individual in a confined space" that "is usually dark . . . the dimensions of which restrict the individuals movements" -- in other words, a coffin-like space. The memo specifically states that the purpose of "stress positions" is to cause "muscle fatigue." And here is what "insects placed in a confinement box" means (and here is one unexplained redaction):

see: http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/radio/2009/04/16/aclu/

[flyarm]

16. It’s Not the Water-Boarding, It’s the Blows to the Head

http://emptywheel.firedoglake.com/2009/04/14/its-not-the-water-boarding-its-the-blows-to-the-head/

It’s Not the Water-Boarding, It’s the Blows to the Head
By: emptywheel Tuesday April 14, 2009 8:06 pm 76
diggs
digg it

Just to lay out a few details based on this article explaining that Obama continues to waver on what parts of the 2005 Bradbury torture memos to reveal. (h/t Steve)

1. According to the WSJ, it's not the description of water-boarding that the CIA wants to hide. It's the description of how the CIA threw people against the wall.

Among the details in the still-classified memos is approval for a technique in which a prisoner's head could be struck against a wall as long as the head was being held and the force of the blow was controlled by the interrogator, according to people familiar with the memos.

2. We know from the ICRC report this technique had been used, three years before Bradbury wrote his OLC memos, with Abu Zubaydah.

I was taken out of my cell and one of the interrogators wrapped a towel around my neck, they then used it to swing me around and smash me repeatedly against the hard walls of the room.



When I was let out of the box I saw that one of the walls of the room had been covered with plywood sheeting. From now on it was against this wall that I was then smashed with the towel around my neck. I think that the plywood was put there to provide some absorption of the impact of my body. The interrogators realized that smashing me against the hard wall would probably quickly result in physical injury.

go to link for full report.

[chill_wind]

14. ...

[polichick]

17. Excellent!!! (That they were released.)

[Political Heretic]

18. "nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past." -total horseshit

Translation: nothing will be gained by spending our time defending the constitution and the rule of law by holding those who violate the constitution and break the law accountable.

There is NO going forward, without accountability for lawbreakers.

[polichick]

19. I agree - while I applaud the release of the memos, prosecution is not optional imo

[chill_wind]

20. PH...

It is mixed news, to be sure. There will HAVE to be prosecutions. Whatever the calculation, this step merely seems to bring THAT step one more logical step closer. At this point, what else does Congress and the entire country need to DEMAND full-throatedly there be a Special Prosecutor?


Whatever he is saying to the contrary to buy just one more day at a time with the CIA, I have to think he has to know that. As much as he may dread and fear the fall-out, surely to god he knows in his head it must happen-- or this isn't an America he wants to be raising his own children in. I could be terribly wrong, but I really want to believe that. As many have pointed out many times along the way about Obama, one thing he is very good at is using time-- and timing.