This is a victory for Bush’s lawyers who justified torture.

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/04/16-10

It's Official: Obama Will Not Prosecute CIA Torturers
Obama strikes a deal with CIA torturers not to prosecute them. This is a victory for Bush’s lawyers who justified torture.
by Jeremy Scahill

The White House has announced that CIA operatives, including contractors, who followed Bush guidelines for torturing prisoners will not be prosecuted for these actions, regardless of the Obama administration’s position on the legality of the techniques they used. “t is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution,” President Obama said in a statement released today. This seems to be part of a deal struck with the CIA over the release of several torture memos today and it is a victory for Bush administration lawyers who sought to provide legal cover for US government torture.
The Washington Post also reported:

For the first time, officials said that they would provide legal representation at no cost to CIA employees in international tribunals or U.S. congressional inquiries into alleged torture. They also said they would indemnify agency workers against any possible financial judgments.

“It would be unfair to prosecute dedicated men and women working to protect America for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

The ACLU was quick to shoot back at Obama’s announcement. “President Obama’s assertion that there should not be prosecutions of government officials who may have committed crimes before a thorough investigation has been carried out is simply untenable. Enforcing the nation’s laws should not be a political decision,” said Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU.

This comes as the White House released the three “Bradbury” memos, drafted in 2005, detailing CIA ‘enhanced interrogation’ techniques and torture. The administration has also reportedly released a 2002 memo written by Justice Department lawyer John Yoo and signed by Jay Bybee. The New York Times described that memo as “a legal authorization for a laundry list of proposed C.I.A. interrogation techniques.”

[flvegan]

1. I'm going to sit over here and watch.

:popcorn:

[Solly Mack]

2. Except it wasn't sanctioned in advance

“It would be unfair to prosecute dedicated men and women working to protect America for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

[Hanse]

3. I suppose in the same way that Watergate was a victory for Nixon.

Because they didn't prosecute the actual burglars because they'd been ordered to as a matter of natinal security.

[rug]

4. G. Gordon Liddy spent four and a half years in federal prison on a voluntary basis.

[Hanse]

7. Liddy was WH legal counsel.

He'd be the John Yoo in this analogy, and Obama hasn't written off prosecution of Yoo.

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. This is just soooooooooo retro ..........

Remember that famous old Adolf Eichemann defense about how he was "just following orders"?

I mean, really.

Everything old is new again. Sort of like the Inquisition, another fun time in human history. We're just following a wonderful tradition.

Isn't it wonderful to be part of such an exemplary part of history?

:sarcasm:

[EFerrari]

6. I timed myself out for hours and I still fail to find anything "dedicated"

or "courageous" about torturers.

It's so bizarre. It's as if the expectation is, shoot the right descriptors at us and we'll just forget about it.

That's not going to happen.