In a controversial decision by Attorney General Eric Holder, the government will use a special prosecutor to investigate violations of interrogation policy by CIA operatives in the immediate aftermath of 9/11 in secret CIA prisons and in the war zone in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The advantage of this is to promote transparency and prevent any future such use of torture in interrogations. It is horrifying to think that there were threats of killing prisoners, use of handguns and power drills as threats, suggestions that family members of suspects would be murdered,choking prisoners, and blowing smoke in their faces to make them vomit. These techniques, along with the already known waterboarding, are against international law, and a registered Republican, John H. Dunham, will be pursuing prosecution, with a record of trust from both political parties, and a reputation of fairness, rather than partisanship, in his background.
This decision, independently made by the Attorney General, will be highly controversial and make new political problems for President Obama, but what is new about that? 🙂
It seems to me to be essential that we do a thorough investigation, but also hold accountable top Bush Administration officials, all the way up to Donald Rumsfeld and Dick Cheney, and maybe, just maybe, George W. Bush himself!