Douglas Feith

Feith Shocked, Simply Shocked By Possible Torture Charges. Should He Be?

Justin Elliott | March 31, 2009, 4:26PM

Here's what Douglas Feith, undersecretary of defense for policy during the Bush Administration, told the New York Times in response to the prospect of torture-related charges being brought against him in Spain:

I didn't even argue for the thing I understand they're objecting to.

Feith was, in the newspaper's words, "baffled by the allegations."

The case at issue has been sent to prosecutors for review by Baltasar Garzon, the activist Spanish judge who ordered the arrest of Augusto Pinochet in the late 1990s. The gist of the lengthy complaint is this: that six former Bush officials -- including Feith, Alberto Gonzales, and John Yoo -- created a legal framework that allowed for the torture of detainees at Guantanamo.

So is Feith right to be "baffled" by his name popping up among those facing potential charges? Let's go to the record:

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