David Addington, War Criminal? I Think So

Well well, what do we have here?

Addington, Gonzales Witnessed Gitmo Interrogations In 2002; Approved Of ‘Whatever Needs To Be Done’

Last month, ABC News revealed that President Bush’s most senior advisers approved the use of harsh interrogation tactics. Days later, Bush confirmed to ABC he “approved” of the tactics.

In a forthcoming book, British international law professor Phillippe Sands further documents how the most extreme interrogation techniques — including stress, hooding, noise, nudity, and “dogs” — came directly from the White House and Pentagon.

Sands reveals that Alberto Gonzales, David Addington, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s lawyer Jim Haynes traveled to Guantanamo in 2002, witnessed an interrogation, and sent approval back to Washington. The “driving individual was Mr. Addington, who was obviously the man in control,” Sands said:

There was an extraordinary meeting held in September 2002, just before the techniques were to go up the chain of command, so to speak. [Gonzales, Addington, and Haynes] descended on Guantanamo, met with the combatant commander there Mike Dunlavey, watched some interrogations, and as I was told by Dunlavey and by his lawyer Diane Beaver, basically sent out the signal ‘do whatever needs to be done.’

snip

Where do we start with this guy?

Not only is a major proponent of illegally torturing people, he witnessed it first hand, agreed with it and actually endorsed doing whatever types of torture anyone thought was necessary to get whatever information the poor bastard on the other end of the waterboard might have.

THEN, went back to DC and told people in the Bush administration that all this was legal.

Ayeap, I pretty much have to think Addington needs to be called ‘defendant’ from this point out.

That isn’t all though, it seems I’m not the only one who thinks that way;

Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to Colin Powell, explained the implications of these revelations:

Haynes, Feith, Yoo, Bybee, Gonzalez and — at the apex — Addington, should never travel outside the US, except perhaps to Saudi Arabia and Israel. They broke the law; they violated their professional ethical code. In future, some government may build the case necessary to prosecute them in a foreign court, or in an international court.

Oh yeah baby.

You treasonous bastards better stick together, make it easier to find yer sorry asses when we need to. Oh, and don’t forget Rumsfield on that list,and SEVERAL others.

I hope I live long enough to find out just how agreeable with the death penalty these motherfuckers are when it’s they who are being measured for a thirteen knot necktie.

Major props to Satyam at Think Progress for the original article.

You just made my day.