White House denies memos authorized torture

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle:

The memos were disclosed in today's editions of the The New York Times, which reported that the 2005 legal opinion authorized the use of simulated drownings and freezing temperatures while interrogating terror suspects, and was issued shortly after then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales took over the Justice Department.

That secret opinion, which explicitly allowed using the painful methods in combination, came months after a 2004 opinion in which the Justice Department publicly declared torture "abhorrent" and the administration seemed to back away from claiming authority for such practices.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino denied that the 2005 opinion cleared the way for the return of painful interrogation tactics or superseded U.S. anti-torture law. "This country does not torture," she told reporters. "It is a policy of the United States that we do not torture and we do not."

Perino did confirm existence of the Feb. 5, 2005, classified opinion, however. But she would not comment on whether it authorized specific practices, such as head-slapping and simulated drowning, and said the 2005 opinion did not reinterpret the law.

Additionally, Justice Department spokesman Brian Roehrkasse said the 2004 opinion remains in effect and that "neither Attorney General Gonzales nor anyone else within the department modified or withdrew that opinion."

"Accordingly, any advice that the department would have provided in this area would rely upon, and be fully consistent with, the legal standards articulated in the December 2004 memorandum," Roehrkasse said in a statement.

The dispute may come down to how the Bush administration defines torture, or whether it allowed U.S. interrogators to interpret anti-torture laws beyond legal limits. CIA spokesman George Little said the agency sought guidance from the Bush administration and Congress to make sure its program to detain and interrogate terror suspects followed U.S. law.

More here.

Oh god, this shit again?

Well, if these secret documents do indeed legally authorize torture, despite DoJ opinions to the contrary, it wouldn't at all be outside the realm of VP Cheney's theories of the "unitary executive." That is, it's been White House policy for six years to do whatever it wants, violating laws and previous executive orders arbitrarily and at will. And we already know how much they love torture.

Hell, it's hard to even know what they're talking about when they're using the word. Their definition allows a great deal of what I and many other Americans would call torture without a moment's hesitation. Further, the White House lied about it repeatedly when they got caught; it's fair to say that the onus is now on them to show that they're not lying about it now.

I really hope the Democrats push this one. More than anything else, Bush's torture regime makes me ashamed to be an American.

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