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Feith Denies, Denies, Denies
Doug 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."
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Josh
Zachary
Feith is a stunning piece of work. The constantly shifting sand in his relativistic moral framework never seem to set him offstride. I haven't the expertise to diagnose his particular array of personality disorders.
He says these things with a straight face and unblinking eyes. Not a jot of shame. It's as though he were speaking to a deaf person, so he needn't be embarrassed.
July 15, 2008 5:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Just remember folks...
Almost ALL of our congress folk (Republicans and Democrats alike) condones torture... or at least condones that it okay for others to torture... as long as it is not another Evil country or a commoner... in which case most of the above believes in executing those people.
How do we know this? Easy. How many people aqre still resisting prosecuting the torturers and the folks who deided "their" torture was legal.
Yet we seem to be hell bent on blasting Bush and his cronies for these acts while minimizing all the other supporters... many whom we voted into office this last election to explicitly STOP supporting the war mongers and the torturers...
You know... those folks who have repeatedly supported the torturers and continue to give them our money so they can continue killing innocent with the "evil ones".
They are also the same folks who have allowed the sub prime loans to be legal and are now deciding that 6,7,8 or even 9% loans weren't enough. They are now deciding to tax us some more, giving the bankers an extra few percentage points from all of us which will NOT be payed back in 20 or 30 years.
Of course it WILL make certain the continued opulent lifestyle of those folks who screwed this country and continue to pay off the crooks we have elected to office... IMHO
July 15, 2008 5:50 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ya know..I despise Dougie with a zeal usually reserved for Bush43.
July 15, 2008 7:05 PM | Reply | Permalink
Play on, player!
July 15, 2008 7:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
The Committee was very smart to bring Philips Sands on to testify with and or against Feith.
The Committee would be even smarter to invite Major General Anthony Taguba ,recently forced to retire because his investigation revealed that the top echelons knew about the torture including Feith's boss -former Sec Def Rumsfield .
If Feith squirmed regarding Barrister Sands testimony - why Feith should be sweating the proverbial bricks regarding Major General Taguba's potential adverserial sworn testimony ...
Maybe after the general election we can get fORMER Assistant Attorney General James Comey to fully investigate all war crime allegations leveled against gwb 43 ..Maybe we could lure Major General Taguba out of retirement to be Comey's number two ...Maybe they would both do this as members of Chairman Conyer's staff...
July 15, 2008 9:06 PM | Reply | Permalink
Phillipe Sands ( http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2008/05/guantanamo200805?printable=true¤tPage=all ) testified yesterday before the House Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties Hearing on: From the Department of Justice to Guantanamo Bay: Administration Lawyers and Administration Interrogations Rules, Part IV.
The video at C-Span has no audio. The video at judiciary.house.gov has a constant buzzing audio and no video.
Please call your Congressperson and request better video oversight and upgrade to H.264 and punishment for the torturers and their stooges.
July 16, 2008 1:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
I can't decide whom I hate more: Feith or David Addington. But performances like this makes me place Feith high up on deserves-to-be-waterboarded list.
July 16, 2008 3:41 PM | Reply | Permalink