Feith Denies, Denies, DeniesDoug Feith was on the Hill today to testify about the interrogation techniques in Guantanamo. Joining him before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties was his nemesis, Philippe Sands, who goes back a ways with Feith.
As Spencer Ackerman blogs at the Washington Independent, Feith started off the hearing denying the statements made in Sand’s book, and then got right down to alleging that the Guantanamo interrogators were rogue agents:
After going back and forth with Feith—in which Feith conceded there were indeed abuses in Defense Dept. detention and interrogation operations— Rep. Bobby Scott (D.-Va) asked why the abusers might think they could torture detainees. “I don’t believe they necessarily did think they did” had authority to torture, Feith said. “Some people do bad things.”
[Late Update]: According to Ackerman, Feith also spent a fair amount of time, detailing the “great care” given to the interpretation of the 2002 memo written by Jim Haynes:
“I imagine one could apply these things in an inhumane fashion,” Feith replied. “‘Removal of clothing’ is different from ‘naked.’ … It could be done in a humane way… They could be used in a way that could violate the [Geneva] Convention,” he explained, “they could be used in a way consistent with the Convention.”