John Yoo and David Addington managed to show up yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee (HOLY Bamboo under the fingernails, Batman! They showed up?!?) and started laying out a considerable load of crap before the members of the Judiciary Committee regarding their “diminished roles” compared to what people have been led to believe regarding interrogation techniques. Well, among other things like Presidential powers, and just plain raping and pillaging the image of America.
First, lets get a little background on these two scumbags (purely MY opinion; McClatchy did not weigh in on this description).
John Yoo – (AKA Bamboo Yoo)
A professor of Law at The University of California, Berkley, Bamboo Yoo is best known for his stint in the U.S. IN – Justice Department’s Office of Legal Council while assisting the Attorney General to give IL – Legal advice to the President (Yes, Bushie) from 2001 – 2003.
After he left the Department of IN – Justice, we learned that Yoo authored memos, including co-authoring the Bybee memo defining torture and American habeas corpus obligations narrowly. The memos, known today as the “torture memos,” advocate enhanced interrogation techniques, while pointing out that refuting the Geneva Conventions would reduce the possibility indivuals face future prosecution under the US War Crimes Act of 1996 for actions taken in the War on Terror.
This is where the Imperial Presidency got it’s beginning. Bushie loved this guy!!
In addition, a new definition of torture was issued. Most actions that fall under the international definition do not fall within this new definition advocated by the U.S. Top military lawyers, including Alberto J. Mora, reported that policies allowing methods equivalent to torture were officially handed down from the highest levels of the administration (see Cheney, VLAD and Bush, Bimbo), and led an effort within the Department of Defence to put a stop to those policies and instead mandate non-coercive interrogation standards. But, Mr. Mora didn’t succeed, because Vlad and Bimbo loved ’em some “enhanced interrogation torture techniques.”
Since he left the Department of In – Justice in 2003, after his return to Cal-Berkley, student protesters at Berkeley have demanded, that he renounce the memos or resign his professorship. However, being a Wingnut Neo-Con, he of course would never ADMIT to having done anything wrong (without the bamboo treatment, of course) and he has thumbed his nose at his detractors ever since.
On to our Not-Friend David Addington (AKA Scooter Two).
This scum-sucking-triple-asswipe of a human being is currently occupying Scooter’s previous job of Chief of Staff to VP Vlad Cheney and was a former legal council to teh Vice Vampire prior to Scooter-boy being convicted of LYING (OMG! A Republican? Lie? NOOOOOOoooooooo!!).
Addington was previously assistant general council for the CIA and an assistant to then Congressman Cheney during the heady days of the Iran-Contra scandal. Addington is also the Main, Number 1 Cheerleader for the idea that the President has Unlimited Powers as our Lying-Cheating-Murdering-Commander-in-Chief during wartime.
Ok, enough with the niceties. On to what McClatchy (whose Service Mark is “Truth to Power”) has to say about these two
%@#*#’s.
To bias or not to bias? THAT is the question…
From McClatchy:
Two of the Bush administration’s most influential lawyers on Thursday downplayed their roles in crafting controversial legal policies in the war on terrorism, even as they rejected criticism that the president had overreached in asserting sweeping executive powers.
Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff, David Addington, and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General John Yoo said they’d sought after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to protect what they described as the president’s inherent wartime powers and to offer interrogators clear guidance on what was permitted under vague U.S. and international laws.
Under intense questioning by members of a House Judiciary subcommittee, Addington and Yoo said that they’d played less dramatic roles in detainee interrogation policies than widely thought. But both men defended the administration’s legal reasoning, including harsh interrogation techniques on detainees.
My emphasis
So really, the boyz didn’t do nuthin’. But they still insist that Presnit-wit Bimbo can do whatevah he want’s cause he’s a WAR PRESIDENT, including torture and other underhanded stuff.
Pretty straight forward reporting here. McClatchy isn’t calling anyone out that I can see. Just stating what went down.
McClatchy goes on to report that the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee wanted these two slugs to explain their reasoning in the internal memos that came to light after Bamboo Yoo left the Department of IN – Justice. Some firework ensued.
As a result, the exchanges often bristled with hostility.
“Now, Mr. Yoo, if you’re going to go around torturing people based on your memo, how do you know before you get information whether or not you’re going to get good information from someone?” asked Rep. Robert Scott, D-Va.
“Sir, I’m not going around torturing people, as you just said,” Yoo replied. “And the memo does not authorize anyone to torture anybody. So, unfortunately, I don’t agree with the premise of your question.”
“Are you suggesting that the activities allowable under your memo do not constitute torture? Everybody’s definition in the world except yours,” Scott replied.
“Sir, I don’t know what everybody else’s definition in the world is,” Yoo said.
In another exchange, Yoo acknowledged that some interrogation techniques may be seen as illegal in other countries.
“I think one of the problems is that the Convention Against Torture is interpreted different ways by different countries,” he said.
Yoo declined to say whether the interrogation techniques would violate international laws if U.S. enemies used them on American soldiers.
“My view now is that it would depend on the circumstances,” he said.
Wow! Just Wow!!
That is the biggest bunch of Bullshit I’ve heard laid out in just a couple of sentences since Jerry Falwell stopped preaching on the TeeVee!
Still, no smoking Washington D.C. legal Handgun of bias here.
Addington denied telling now-retired Lt. Col. Diane Beaver, who was then a judge advocate at Guantanamo, to do “whatever needed to be done” to detainees to obtain intelligence, as reported in a Vanity Fair article.
“Yes, I do deny it,” Addington said. “Yes, that quote is wrong.”
Asked what techniques he knew about, Addington declined to comment.
“I’m not in a position of talking about particular techniques,” he said, adding, “al Qaida may watch these meetings.”
So, another attempt to have a little oversight on the Bimbo-Administration and another round of Neo-Con stonewalling. With all of the stonewalling going on in D.C. these days, we should have been able to build that fence along the Mexican – USA border ten times over at this point.
Well, to sum up and or surmise, McClatchy – true to their Service Mark of “Truth to Power” just gave us the facts. No bias, no nothing in the way of personal insight.
You know what? I don’t think there is any real stinkin’ Liberal Bias in our Media! I am coming to the conclusion that they sure do spend more time reporting on fluff stories than they do reporting on issues of import, but still…..
No Liberal Bias.
Tune back in on Monday morning, Saaame Liberal Time! Saaame Liberal Blog! to see what we may find then….
1 comments
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No, not McClatchy….Yoo and Addington.