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Obama leaves Bush aides open to torture charges
Paul Thompson22 Apr 2009
BARACK OBANMA has refused to rule out prosecuting Bush administration officials who sanctioned the torture methods used in the interrogation of terror suspects.
In a surprising about-face, the President said the US had lost its "moral bearings" with use of the tactics and held open the possibility of criminal action against those who allowed it to go ahead.
Mr Obama said he would support an independent commission to look at whether officials should face criminal charges.
The President's comments follow a morale-boosting visit to the CIA headquarters, where he emphasised that the agents responsible for implementing the "torture" techniques, such as waterboarding, would not be prosecuted.
He said they had used the "harsh and painful" methods on the understanding they were legally approved by the justice department.
But in a clear change from the language he and his administration have used in the past, the President said: "With respect to those who formulated those legal decisions, I would say that is going to be more of a decision for the attorney general within the parameters of various laws, and I don't want to prejudge that. I think that there are a host of very complicated issues involved there."
Only 24 hours ago the White House had taken the position that the administration did not see any reason to "hold accountable" those Bush lawyers who gave the green light to the interrogation techniques.
White House press spokesman Robert Gibbs had said the President was "focused on moving forward". Rahm Emanuel, Mr Obama's chief of staff, had earlier said those who devised policy should not be prosecuted.
Those facing a possible inquiry are the three men who wrote a series of memos that have since been released detailing the interrogation techniques allowed to extract information from al Qaeda suspects.
They are Jay Bybee, a former assistant attorney general who is now a federal judge, and his deputies John Yoo and Steven Bradbury. Legal experts said the men drafted the memos to support the policies of more senior officials - attorneys general John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales, CIA director George Tenet, defence secretary Donald Rumsfeld and ultimately George Bush and Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Mr Obama has outlawed the use of the methods detailed in the memos and closed down the secret CIA prisons where the torture was carried out.
The White House said today that Mr Obama has invited Egyptian, Israeli and Palestinian leaders for talks in the next few weeks on the Middle East peace process. There was no indication whether the Arab and Israeli leaders would meet face to face.
Reader views (5)
Nigel, London - its called a democracy. People have a right to a different opinion. That landslide victory of Obama? That was electoral college votes, not individuals. Big difference - there are an awful lot of people who voted against Obama for the very reasons put up by Jennie. They happen to believe that Obama will ultimately be bad for the country, as rampant socialism is bad, ultimately, for any country (that's another personal opinion you no doubt disagree with, but you are probably a Labour die-hard with diametrically opposing views - hardly an unbiased viewpoint).
Personally, I think he is proving her point.
- Rogan, Irving, 23/04/2009 03:57
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Obama said that the US has "lost its moral bearings", and right on cue, up pops Jennie to prove it. She's all in favour of torturing *suspects* - people who have not been convicted of any crime, not even in a kangaroo court, let alone one validly constituted under the laws and constitution of the USA.
And it's interesting that she mentions WW2. Back then, it was not the USA or the British who regarded torture and summary execution as the right way to fight. The countries that did, lost. Thank God.
- Nigel, London, 22/04/2009 17:48
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You are right on Jennie. I couldn't have said it better myself.
- Laurie, Texas, USA, 22/04/2009 16:49
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America's action over the last few decades have been questionable at best, this is just the tip of the iceberge. The manipulation of other countries and the sale of weapons that fueled wars all over the world to me are the real things that I would like to see exposed and brought to justice, but I guess that won't happen. But anywho, what America did to these terrorists and suspected terrorists is barbaric, no crime deserves this sort of human abuse, the people that allowed this to happen are no better than the people they were trying to condemn. It is shocking that these atrocities were sanctioned by a government that purports itself as being civilized, the ends do not justify means...and to that end...what was really gained from all of this human abuse? God will not help America, if he exists, he would condemn the actions of the bush administration for they were wholly motivated by money and ignorance. Bush has left a huge hole in America's credibility in the world stage, Obama is merely trying to fix the damage that has been done, good on him.
- Dave Reed, London, 22/04/2009 12:49
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I believe Barack Hussein Obama will bankrupt America, make us less safe because of his policies, especially releasing what should remain Top Secret documents while we are fighting two wars. If this had happened during World War II, he would be accused of treason. But because of his rock star celebrity, he is able to get away with almost anything, even to criticizing the United States on foreign soil. I fear for America. I love my country, but I dont' think Obama does. He spent 20 years sitting in a church whose pastor denigrated America. One does not stay in a church where your country is being trashed, unless you agree with the one doing the trashing. Rev. Jeremiah Wright implored God to damn America. I pray that God will help America.
- Jennie Maroney, Framingham, MA, USA, 22/04/2009 11:27
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