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Feith: Only "Assholes" Fret about Torture

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 boasted to Sands that back in 2002, he "was really a player" in ensuring that Gitmo detainees would not receive Geneva protections. But when Sands asked 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.”

Comments (54)

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I don't think Dougie's "tell all" book, with all its lies, will do a thing to prevent his investigation, prosecution, conviction...

Perhaps if he's willing to testify against Rumsfeld, Cheney and Addington he won't have to serve time...

As for a**holes... Takes on to know one

Ok, I plead guilty - with pride!

Those Founding Fathers sure were assholes.

Just Franklin, when he was in France, banging cocktail waitresses two at a time.

The guy just looks smarmy. Not exactly W's smirk, but all the same that smart-assed look like he's got an over-priviledged-shithead chip on his shoulder.

What I wouldn't give to knock that smile off his face? Evil fuck.

Edward Herrmann cross-bred with a moronic sociopath.

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Here's my rolling post about architects of our torture and Iraq policies, from Cogitamus a few days ago, and at Brad DeLong's place yesterday:

People like Feith (and Yoo, and Bush, Cheney, Addington, Rummy, Wolfie, etc.) should not be able to step outside the bubble of their privileged, like-minded friends without being subjected to questions such as "how can you bear to live, knowing the deaths and pain and suffering you've caused?"

They should not fear for their bodily safety, but beyond that, we owe them no debt of courtesy. They never put Iraq or torture or surveillance or any of these things to an honest debate in advance, which would have turned these decisions into the wrongs of the body politic.

They shoved the Iraq decision past us by a combination of lies, bullying, and fearmongering. Everything else, they did surreptitiously. These are their crimes, not ours.

But there will be no impeachment, no war crimes trial. The only recourse left to us is to forbid them to live normal lives among us. They should not be able to so much as stop at a gas station or a drugstore, for the rest of their lives, without being asked how they can live with themselves, given what they've done.

That's the closest we can come to "to the pain." And it's no more than they deserve.

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There may be no war crimes trials in this country, but these assholes had better be wary of international travel for the rest of their lives.

Exactly. I'd like to see John Yoo try to travel to Europe.

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Totally agree with you, my friend. Let's get a list going that tells everyone where these assholes work and live. Then, let's make sure that everyone in their neighborhood knows that a war criminal is living among them. Kind of like Megan's Law but for chickenhawks.

Won't that be fun?

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"These are their crimes, not ours."

Good post, and I agree with most of what you say. Unfortunately, we (the very broad "we") are not blameless. Given ample evidence of Bush/Cheney's incompetence and likely criminal behavior, this country re-elected them. 2004 was our one chance to fully repudiate Bush and show that previous four years were an illegal and temporary takeover, and we failed.

Not certain I completely agree with you. Granted, I'm sick to my stomach I didn't do more, but who knows what went on with the election in '04. All the exit polls all day being so wrong in the end? All of the non-paper-trail electronic voting machines. Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but ...

Not to mention a stolen 2000 election.

I voted for Gore and I voted for Kerry and had high hopes both times only to be dashed. I remember thinking "what will four more years of this administration look like?" Administration is too high a term to describe this railroad of lies and deceit and stains to the world at large perpetrated by so few.

Hell, I don't even blame the ignorant or simple-minded who bought into the fear tactics and who now seem "complicit" in these atrocities by re-electing Bush.

I am sick to my stomach with the knowledge of this. Of course I'm an asshole, a cut-n-runner, a "fascist" liberal, and - worst of all - unpatriotic to have thrown up my hands at these fucking criminals who have run this country into the ground over eight years.

Please let this be the end of this reign of terror in November.

And why is it that Hillary continues to defend her Iraq War vote?

That should have been on the list of questions to send her web site.

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Remember in Animal House when Flounder rubbed his hands together and said "oh boy, this is great"?

I thought of that moment when i read Dougie's quote.

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Feith and others in this administration are the worst of the worst: With no personal experience of war, imprisonment or torture, they relish the opportunity to unleash cruelty on others, sinking to the same despicable level as the criminals and terrorists they seek to defeat. I'm ashamed of them. Guess that makes me an asshole who thinks moral, ethical and just behavior has value in this world.

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Yeah but to be fair to the terrorist, I'm not sure how much sinking this group had to do.

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Coming from the "dumbest fucking asshole on the planet," that's quite a put down.

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Perhaps Mr. Feith may reconsider the quoted statement in light of John McCain's statement about torture on David Letterman yesterday. Mr. Feith has taken one heck of a position on his party's nominee.

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Once again proof positive that when a wing-nut Republican says something you can believe exactly the opposite. Wing-nut says: People are assholes who think torture is bad, so the opposite is true, people who torture are assholes. If you need more proof look at his picture.

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Of course he has a website to "set the record straight" - dougfeith.com.

And of course that website is hidden behind some sort of domain name discreet re-seller in Canada.

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...and of course he failed to secure dougfeith.org.

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Don't you just love these brave, patriotic, manly, men willing to have people tortured as long he is inside the concrete bunker called the Pentagon. Just like that other draft dodger, John Wayne. "We are going on a suicide mission tonight men! I only wish I was going with you!" Feith would spoil his panties if he ever got in a scary situation. The last time he did was when someone took his lunch money. Wthout protest. It is wimpy gutless people like Fieth and Cheney that helped put our country in the shape it is in. And other than take money out of it will do absolutely nothing to restore it's position in the world unless there is something in it for themselves. What is it with prestigious universities that hire people like Feith and Yoo? Yoo was so concerned the President have unlimited powers during a war. Even if it was one he started. Isn't that what Hitler had? and because his underlings said they were following orders it was OK. The trials at Nuremberg eliminated that bullshit. Feith, Yoo, Addington, Gonzalez, Cheney and any other conspirator should be sent to the Hague.

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In a just world they'd go to the Hague. In this one, probably not.
I seriously hate these jackals.

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How about someone does like the Israelis did with Nazi war criminals - hunt them down and kidnap them to stand trial in Israel. I don't expect anyone would miss them if they ended up renditioned by Afghanistan or Iraq to some hidey hole in one of the 'Stans.

Vote Republican, and this is the kind of individual you'll end up trafficking with.

I'd suggest that we start a writing, phoning, e-mailing and faxing campaign to the Dem candidates, to get them to ratify the US inclusion under the International Court of Law. In that, we can have all the 'dirty work' done by the hague, and there need be no impeachment no politically risky maneuvers, noting. just justice and imprisonment for the wing-nut neo-cons. seems simple enough, right? unless the dems are scared of that too?

what do you lot think?

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First of all, look at Dougie's photo. You just know that every year, on the first day of school, Dougie got the shit kicked out of him, pro forma. He's got that look and kids recognize it without fail.

Ever since, our Dougie has been compensating for his teeny weenie by becoming a chickenhawk and sending other people's kids to die for all those ass kickings he had to endure.

Cheap psychoanalysis? Don't think so and even a tool like Tommy Franks got it right. Dumbest asshole on the planet, indeed!

Can we please prosecute these blatant, confessed criminals for their war crimes now? Not Cheney and Bush--they're safe until they leave office--but how about the rest of these clowns like Feith, Addington, Yoo, and the rest? I mean, how much more evidence does a prosecutor need?

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All these clowns amaze me. They all talk tough but the closest they've ever come to conflict is a paper cut.

They away their body guards and protections, put them in a room with a real man and see them squirm.

I'd pay for that, or better yet, I'll volunteer for the duty.

Call me an asshole then Doug. And by the way, as your VP so elegantly puts it "GO **** YOURSELF!!!!", or better yet why don't you head off to one of our political prisons and they'll show you how to that.

How such disgusting, corrupt, inhumane, lying, sacks of excrement ever get appointed to a position of authority is beyond belief. Oh, yeah, we have a Chimp for president,... never mind.

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Someone in the Bush administration called Doug Feith 'THE DUMBEST MAN IN THE WORLD'

I wonder why ?

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Hey Friends!

Premier Asshole Doug Feith teaches at Georgetown. His email is djf35@georgetown.edu.

His office number is 202-687-7846.

If you get a moment, do let him know how much we appreciate his shredding of the Constitution. Not to mention his tough talk (and Yoo's, and Cheney's, etc) that is based on not a single second served in the military.

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I'd be the last person to defend scum like Feith, but couldn't the "assholes" Feith was referring to be those who were tortured rather than those who fret about torture?

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Dougie went to my high school, Cheltenham in the suburbs of Philadelphia, a few years before me. So did Binyamin Netanyahu. Way to go, huh?

His father was a big macher in the Philadelphia Jewish Federation, and when I interned at the Jewish Exponent in 1978 we had to put his picture, and other plutocrats', in the paper every week. (Federation owned the paper; still does, as far as I know.)

A true shande far de goyim (disgrace in front of the Gentiles)!!!

I was a little hesitant to use this language, but after Josh's little AFV out-take segment thingy yesterday, I feel comfortable saying this.

(clears throat)

Douglas Feith is a useless slapdick. He can go fuck himself right in his own stupid ass face.

(takes bow)

Hear Hear!!

I was a little hesitant to use this language, but after Josh's little AFV out-take segment thingy yesterday, I feel comfortable saying this.

(clears throat)

Douglas Feith is a useless slapdick. He can go fuck himself right in his own stupid ass face.

(takes bow)

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When you take the time to look back at the Bush administration's agenda, one of the items that stands out from 2001 (and there were so many) was the move to obtain immunity from the ICC. Hague Invasion Act, anyone? Was that not a signal of what was coming?

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Try googling

"stupidest fucking planet"

In 2001 it was "you're either with us or you're with the terrorists". In 2008, you're either with us or you're with the assholes. So we now have the GWOAH instead of the GWOT, didn't we kind of know that all along.

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Has anyone else noticed that far-right conservatives have no lips?

But there will be no impeachment, no war crimes trial. The only recourse left to us is to forbid them to live normal lives among us. They should not be able to so much as stop at a gas station or a drugstore, for the rest of their lives, without being asked how they can live with themselves, given what they've done.

That's the closest we can come to "to the pain." And it's no more than they deserve.

I've always had the same desire for these conscienceless dickwads. But someone finally made me realize that public shame and constant reminders of one's sins only works for people who have a conscience to begin with.

For these guys, it's always been about winning, no matter what it costs anyone else. That Neocon/right wing group live with a bizarre kind of certainty in their being right that nothing else is more important. Just the other day I heard an interview with someone who wrote about Bush, and he said that Bush never wants to change his mind about something—no matter if he even sees there might be a problem with what he's decided—because it would make him look weak.

So think how weak Feith would feel if he even for a moment let himself think that he was wrong about something. That kind of sociopathology (and TheraP, correct me if I'm wrong) can't be humiliated by public opinion.

I go along with getting the US in with the International Court the moment the Oath of Inauguration ends. It's the only recourse.

Feith is a major league douchebag. Other douchebags watch his antics in awe.

But seriously, that a guy like Feith had the chance to even be near the levers of power is a scary concept. He's incompetent and in the words of a certian general, he has to be "the dumbest fucking guy on the planet."

siding with the assholes
I don't get it. How does being opposed to torture mean you're siding with Doug Feith?
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Good job, Zell (asshole), you just caused the fabric of the universe to rip apart!

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I believe Feith is the author of the "all animals are dogs based logic" behind the "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence" misapplication of 'logic'.

Hence, I believe Doug Feith is the purple elephant sticking out of Rumsfeld's ass - you can't tell me he's not since the absence of evidence, is not the evidence of absence.

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I'm not a religious person and I've always had a hard time with idea of hell... However there are a few special individuals like this douchebag who truly make me hope that there is a place where their own crimes are revisited upon them for all of eternity.

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How about we bring back "shunning"? No one would speak to them, touch them and when you see them approaching you, turn your back.

Doug Feith: What a dick.

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Fuck "shunning."

How about rendition to the Hague, prosecution and execution? That's what they did at Nuremberg.

Even if the Democrats get in, they'll never have the guts to do it, so human rights NGOs, or just outraged citizens, will have to take the initiative.

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I don't see why these guys can't be tried and convicted.

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Misleading title.

Should be "People who fret about moral authority are siding with the assholes"

Does not change Feith's level of douchebaggery.

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The first thing that came to mind when I read this post, was Leona Helmsley's famous phrase:
"We don't pay taxes. Only little people pay taxes".
Dougie's neo-con version of the same concept:
"We don't give a shit about human rights. Only assholes worry about human rights".
At least, Leona was convicted and went to jail for her crimes. Does anyone think Doug Feith will ever pay for his?

And Dougie's not just your garden variety asshole, he's one a' them there conservative elitist assholes!

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Comparatively the Nixon administration is looking better and better.

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