Petraeus: Crossing the line into torture, hard lessons, corrective measures, but NO TORTURE

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Petraeus denies systematic torture during Bush years
David Edwards and Jeremy Gantz
Published: Sunday March 29, 2009

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Petraeus_denies_systematic_torture_during_Bush_0329.html



The U.S. military did not order torture while George W. Bush was president, U.S. Army General David Petraeus said Sunday.

Petraeus, who commanded the multinational forces in Iraq until he took over U.S. Central Command last year, said the military "certainly did not" order anything that he thought was wrong or immoral – like torture.

"Now, there were incidents that did cross the line into torture and we learned hard lessons from Abu Ghraib and we believe we took corrective measures in the wake of that," Petraeus told CNN's John King Sunday. "We think in the military, in particular, that that's a line that can't be crossed.

"If one violates the values we hold so dear, we jeopardize our troops," he said, noting that he put out a memorandum to the forces in Iraq while commander there out of concern that soldiers may not be taking these values seriously enough.

[mix]

1. another who can't speak the truth n/t

[Webster Green]

2. Who gives a shit what war criminals say?

General David Petraeus should be locked up with the rest of the fucking war criminals. :mad:

[Solly Mack]

3. Sure. It wasn't systemic. It was just coincidence that the exact same measures

were taking place in Afghanistan, Iraq, and at GTMO. And, gee, those ah....directives, from Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld and the CinC Bush, were just suggestions that the military ignored. You betcha. Just "bad apples" acting out.

So, yeah ...the "US military did not order torture" - but those they answer to did... and many troops, officers and enlisted alike, obliged.

[EFerrari]

6. Barack Obama needs to clean up his house. n/t

[Solly Mack]

8. The denials are going to get worse..especially with Spain's court in the news.

I expect a PR campaign in the coming week.

[EFerrari]

9. That makes sense. The criminals themselves try to get out ahead of things,

the administration seems to react to them.

[Poiuyt]

4. This makes my blood boil

And I'm guessing that John King didn't question Petraeus's remarks either. That would be fulfilling a journalist's responsibilities.

[EFerrari]

5. Because that would make you a war criminal, David. n/t

[spanone]

7. sure mr petreaus....sure

[EFerrari]

10. Kick