But, could someone help me with the history that backs this up:
George W. Bush tells New Yorker writer Ken Auletta: “No President has ever done more for human rights than I have.”
Auletta’s story should be up at The New Yorker tomorrow.
Via The Gamer’s Nook.
No matter your politics you should be outraged by this:
That’s all they had: guilt by the most remote of computer- generated associations. But, according to Attorney General John Ashcroft, that was more than enough to justify Arar’s delivery to Syria’s torturers.
Besides, Ashcroft added, the torturers had expressly promised that they would not torture him.
Our intelligence agencies have a name for this torture-by-proxy. They call it “extraordinary rendition.” As one intelligence official explained: “We don’t kick the s — out of them. We send them to other countries so they can kick the s — out of them.”
This secret program for torturing suspects has been authorized, if that is the right word for it, by a secret presidential finding. Where the president gets the authority to have anyone tortured has never been explained.
Read Maher Arar’s story here.
Brad Delong thinks this is worth an impeachment and Brian Weatherson wonders how many conservative bloggers will condone this behavior and thinks that the perps should at minimum spend time in jail.
I’ll go along with Brad on the impeachment idea.
Richard Perle produces a jewel:
Two of President George W. Bushmilitary advisors said that the US inability to find illegal weapons in Iraq means little.
“I don’t think that you can draw any conclusion from the fact that the stockpiles were not found,” Pentagon advisor Richard Perle said…
Hmmm…many of us might think that you can draw some conclusions like: 1) there were not any stockpiles and 2) it is more likely that the administration really did lie when justifiying the war.
Earlier today Kevin Drum warned:
BETTER DUCK AND COVER, PAUL….{snip} But then there’s this:
O’Neill, who was asked to resign because of his opposition to the tax cut, says he doesn’t think his tell-all account in this book will be attacked by his former employers as sour grapes. “I will be really disappointed if [the White House] reacts that way,” he tells Stahl. “I can’t imagine that I am going to be attacked for telling the truth.”
He’s got to be kidding. After all this time is he really that clueless about the kind of people he’s dealing with?
And just a few minutes ago from Hesiod:
IT’S STARTING: Drudge has a preview quote from a “White House source” attacking former Treasury Secretary, Paul O’Neill.
The White House got its “side” of the story into the Washington Post before O’Neill’s interview with Leslie Stall airs on “60 Minutes” tomorrow night.
Good. I hope they piss Paul off even more, and he starts saying all sorts of “crazy” things.
The upcoming week could be a lot of fun.
For you Wilie Nelson fans mousemusings has put up an MP3 of his new tune, Whatever Happened to Peace on Earth.