Feith: Only "Assholes" Fret about Torture

[babylonsister]

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/feith_only_assholes_fret_about.php

Feith: Only "Assholes" Fret about Torture
By Paul Kiel - April 2, 2008, 3:32PM


It won't surprise anyone that the least sympathetic portrayal in Phillipe Sands' Vanity Fair piece is of former Undersecretary of Defense Doug Feith.

Not only did Feith play a major hand in promoting the myth of Iraq's ties to Al Qaeda before the invasion of Iraq, but he also played a major role in developing the interrogation policy for Guantanamo Bay.

Feith boasts to Sands that back in 2002, he "was really a player" in ensuring that Gitmo detainees would not receive Geneva protections. But when Sands asks him "whether, in the end, he was at all concerned that the Geneva decision might have diminished America’s moral authority," Feith got nasty:

He was not. “The problem with moral authority,” he said, was “people who should know better, like yourself, siding with the assholes, to put it crudely.”

VF piece here:

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/guantanamo200805?printable=true¤tPage=all

Also from that piece...

Top Admin Lawyers Went to Gitmo to Help Craft Torture Policy

Torture from The Top Down
By Paul Kiel - April 2, 2008, 3:18PM

Shedding light on the human rights abuses of the Bush administration's first term seems to be the order of the day.

Reporting for Vanity Fair, Philippe Sands, a professor of law at University College London, details the direct involvement of administration figures in developing the interrogation techniques to be used at Guantanamo Bay.

There are plenty of highlights, including an admission (finally) from a Pentagon official that Jack Bauer provided inspiration. Diane Beaver, a lawyer who worked underneath Major General Michael Dunlavey, the first commander at Gitmo, told Sands in an interview about brainstorming meetings (which included representatives from the Defense Intelligence Agency and the C.I.A.) held at Gitmo in September of 2002 about possible interrogation techniques. The military's SERE (Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape) program, meant to train U.S. soldiers to resist torture used by the bad guys, was one inspiration. But:

Ideas arose from other sources. The first year of Fox TV’s dramatic series 24 came to a conclusion in spring 2002, and the second year of the series began that fall. An inescapable message of the program is that torture works. “We saw it on cable,” Beaver recalled. “People had already seen the first series. It was hugely popular.” Jack Bauer had many friends at Guantánamo, Beaver added. “He gave people lots of ideas.”

more...

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/04/torture_from_the_top_down.php

[GoneOffShore]

1. Then that makes me an asshole.

Feith - what a piece of shit.

[mac2]

8. He lies so much Murdock gave him a book deal.

Emm political money laundering. Good job Feith.

[shain from kane]

17. Me too. And I've kept my assholedness hidden for many years.

[trumad]

2. Show this guy some toenail clippers and he'd give up his Momma.

[RavensChick]

12. Got that right!

Someone (namely me 'cause I read the Bible) should point out to this guy that the love of money is the root of ALL evil (1 Timothy 6:10). He would not only sell out his whole family but the nation as a whole. We've already had 8 years thus far of that!

No more repugs in the White House! Let's unite and get our beloved Democrats back on track so we can win in November!!!!!

[YDogg]

3. I suppose it is easier for feith to call people names than argue on a moral plane.

[villager]

4. Moral plane? Feith? He'd have to have one, first.

n/t

[YDogg]

9. I take for granted that he has none.

Good point, tho.

[RavensChick]

15. His soul is so dark

he would'nt recognize it.

[katty]

5. Feith, his bio is riddled with cruel intention and lies-he is just

pissed he has to defend anything he has participated in.

[annabanana]

6. This is the guy that Gen. Tommy Franks called

"the fucking stupidest guy on the face of the earth."

[tanyev]

7. Here's some more of that moral authority.

Who are the assholes, Mr. Feith?

[Supersedeas]

29. standing above an injured man is moral authority in Feith's eyes

power means everything to the NeoCon kooks.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. These dweeby-assed Repubic Motherfuckers

Assholes, huh?

Well, Dougie, I guess you won't miss anyone pining for your sorry ass when you go to prison and become everyone's partyboy.

[babylonsister]

11. That would be a day to celebrate. nt

[riverdeep]

13. Headline is a bit misleading.

Hell, that's probably what he actually thinks, but going by what he said is that the 'Islamofascists' are assholes, not the people who, in his opinion, side with them.

Damn scary that Gitmo clowns get a jolly from seeing Jack Bauer on that thar teevee.

[Hydra]

18. Of course the love Jack Bauer

They created him.

[KamaAina]

14. I thought it was only "major-league assholes" that did?

:eyes:

[Me.]

16. Good. Get Him On The Record

When he's indicted for war crimes they can use his own words to convict him

[Hydra]

19. I'm glad they make it so crystal clear for us

Still, I mislike the suggestion that Jack Bauer was their inspiration. Jack Bauer was their CREATION.

They like to pretend that they started doing this stuff after 9/11. That's complete BS.

[MaineYooper]

20. If anyone is qualified to know what assholes think, it's Feith. nt

[Marr]

21. Remember that line about 'the grownups being back in charge'?

Have you ever seen a collection of political figures who are more juvenile, boorish, and outright stupid than the Bush Administration? From George Bush to Dick "go fuck yourself" Cheney on down-- it's like the country has been run by a collection of overgrown grade school brats.

[BuyingThyme]

22. Discussion now on Randi Rhodes (today w/ Sam Seder).

[Octafish]

23. Call me ''asshole'' then.

Guess that's better than what Tommy Franks said about you:

"Doug Feith is stupidest fucking guy on the face of the planet."

Oh. Almost forgot:

FUCK YOU, FEITH!

FUCK YOU, BUSH!

[depakid]

24. Now here is a man who clearly belongs before The Hague

[deminks]

25. Yesss, I am an asshole. I am somebody. I am a librul. I am somebody.

[Blackhatjack]

26. With the passage of enough time Feith will be classified as a criminal....

There is just no place in history books for expediency. He promoted torture, made sure it happened, spoke openly about the moral authority for using it, and criticized others who tried to question use of torture.

He has made it into a very special group in my book.... some members of which made appearances at the end of WWII on trial for war crimes.

[Jazzgirl]

27. I believe Feith was known as

the dumbest m*****f****r in DC. So...what's he know??

[struggle4progress]

28. If we started pulling out Feith's fingernails, I bet he'd tell us about his role in the 9/11 attacks

[librechik]

31. only in Feith's case he just might be telling the truth! n/t

[Hieronymus]

30. Obviously, Feith is striving be more like Cheney .. what an evil fuck.

[SeattleGirl]

32. That makes me a member of the Asshole's Club.

:rofl:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

33. If there were true justice in our country. Doug Feith would have been charged with treason, been

found guilty and already in prison by now.