Should those who OK'd 'brutal interrogation techniques in violation of US law' be prosecuted?
After the release earlier this week of a 499-page U.S. Senate committee report that says the CIA resorted to illegal and ineffective torture tactics in the eight years after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, some observers are calling for prosecution of those responsible.
“The criminal law serves many functions: to express moral condemnation, to punish wrongdoers, to deter future wrongful conduct. Criminal prosecution of those who authorized and engaged in torture is essential to serve all of these functions,” writes law dean Erwin Chemerinsky of the University of California-Irvine in an op-ed published by the Los Angeles Times (sub. req.). “The U.S. government now must communicate to the world that we recognize that what was done was unacceptable and a violation of domestic and international law. Criminal prosecution is necessary to convey this message.”
United National officials on Wednesday demanded prosecution not only of those who actually tortured but those who approved their conduct, the Associated Press reports.
“In all countries, if someone commits murder, they are prosecuted and jailed. If they commit rape or armed robbery, they are prosecuted and jailed. If they order, enable or commit torture—recognized as a serious international crime—they cannot simply be granted impunity because of political expediency,” said Zeid Raad al-Hussein. He is U.N. high commissioner for human rights.
However, the U.S. is not a member of the International Criminal Court, and the Department of Justice says it can’t prove criminal conduct concerning what the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence report describes as “brutal interrogation techniques in violation of U.S. law, treaty obligations, and our values.”
In a Tuesday written statement, the DOJ said it stands by its earlier decision, years ago, not to prosecute after an “extraordinarily thorough” inquiry, NBC News reports. This decision was reached because “the admissible evidence would not be sufficient to obtain and sustain convictions beyond a reasonable doubt,” the DOJ said.
Meanwhile, as a Democratic lawmaker argued Wednesday on the Senate floor that the White House is shielding the CIA while the agency continues to lie both about what happened and about the effectiveness of its interrogation program, some Republican colleagues, the CIA and multiple former directors contend the report from a Senate committee comprised of a majority of Democrats is inaccurate and represents a partisan political vendetta.
CIA interrogation of suspected terrorists was effective, provided life-saving information and was approved by lawyers at the Justice Department’s office of legal counsel, said three former CIA directors and three former deputies in a Wall Street Journal op-ed.
“We relied on their policy and legal judgments. We deceived no one,” the ex-directors and former deputies write at one point.
“Examining how the CIA handled these matters is an important subject of continuing relevance to a nation still at war. In no way would we claim that we did everything perfectly, especially in the emergency and often-chaotic circumstances we confronted in the immediate aftermath of 9/11,” they also say. “As in all wars, there were undoubtedly things in our program that should not have happened. When we learned of them, we reported such instances to the CIA inspector general or the Justice Department and sought to take corrective action.
“The country and the CIA would have benefited from a more balanced study of these programs and a corresponding set of recommendations. The committee’s report is not that study. It offers not a single recommendation.”
A New York Times (reg. req.) story provides more details about objections to the report by the CIA, the Republican minority of the Senate intelligence committee and others.
In his floor speech, Sen. Mark Udall, a Democrat from Colorado, said an internal CIA report that has never been made public supports the Senate committee conclusions. Udall blamed not only the CIA for defending the use of torture but the White House, the Huffington Post reports.
“While the study clearly shows that the CIA detention and interrogation program itself was deeply flawed, the deeper, more endemic problem lies in the CIA, assisted by a White House, that continues to try to cover up the truth,” he said, calling for the removal of those who supported brutal interrogation techniques.
Related coverage:
Associated Press: “Here Are The Most Horrific Details From The Senate Torture Report”
CNN: “Top takeaways from the CIA torture report”
Chicago Tribune: “Sen. Kirk: Senate staffers who released CIA torture report ‘little zombies’”
Gannett: “CIA destroyed interrogation tapes after Levin pushed for investigation”
