Check It Out for Wednesday, April 2nd
William Fisher at IPS News writes that calls for investigating Bush regime's sanctioned torture aren't going away.
"A coalition of 19 human rights, faith-based and justice organisations is calling on President Barack Obama to investigate torture they charge was sanctioned by the administration of former President George W. Bush.
"The group, led by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), is proposing both a special prosecutor and an "independent, non-partisan commission to examine and report publicly on torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees in the period since September 11, 2001."
"The campaign’s call for accountability comes just days after the release of the Senate Armed Services Committee report on interrogation and torture and the Justice Department legal memos sanctioning torture and inhumane treatment.
"Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, told IPS, "NRCAT supports both the establishment of an independent, non-partisan commission of inquiry to investigate the use of torture and a Department of Justice investigation for criminal culpability of those who authorised or carried out acts of torture. Each process is important and can be pursued independently."
"He added, 'A commission will help us understand how the illegal interrogation policies came into effect and how they were implemented so that we can ensure that safeguards are in place to prevent future administrations from following the same path.'
" 'A criminal investigation will send the clear message that government officials cannot violate laws against torture without facing serious criminal sanctions. If we hope to end the practice of torture by agents of the United States once and for all, we must pursue both avenues.' "
Scott Horton at Daily Beast reports that the investigation in Spain into the torture policy six is back on.
"In a ruling in Madrid today, Judge Baltasar Garzón has announced that an inquiry into the Bush administration’s torture policy makers now will proceed into a formal criminal investigation. The ruling came as a jolt following the recommendation of Spanish Attorney General Cándido Conde-Pumpido against proceeding with a criminal inquiry, reported in The Daily Beast on April 16.
"Judge Garzón previously initiated and handled investigations involving Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet, Argentine “Dirty War” strategist Adolfo Scilingo and Guatemalan strongman José Efraín Ríos-Montt, often over the objections of the Spanish attorney general. His case against Pinochet gained international attention when the Chilean general was apprehended in England on a Spanish arrest warrant. Scilingo was extradited to Spain and is now serving a sentence of 30 years for his role in the torture and murder of some thirty persons, several of whom were Spanish citizens.
"Garzón’s ruling today marks a decision to begin a formal criminal inquiry into the allegations of torture and inhumane treatment he has been collecting for several years now.
"Spanish lawyers close to the case tell me that under applicable Spanish law, the Obama administration has the power to bring the proceedings in Spain against former Bush administration officials to a standstill. 'All it has to do is launch its own criminal investigation through the Justice Department,' said one lawyer working on the case, 'that would immediately stop the case in Spain.' "
Matthew Rothschild at The Progressive writes about Bush created NorthCom's, possible violation of the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, a law which limited the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. NorthCom seems to be involved in the flu outbreak drills during the past three years.
"The swine flu outbreak raises a lot of fears.
"Here’s one you might not have thought of yet: The Pentagon may be taking over more and more of our civil society in this crisis.
"Back in 2002, President Bush created NorthCom, the Pentagon’s Northern Command, which has jurisdiction over the United States.
"And NorthCom has been running preparedness drills in the event of a flu pandemic for at least the past three years.
"Making things more alarming, NorthCom got assigned its own fighting unit six months ago—the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team, which had spent much of the last five years battling things out in Iraq.
"The assignment of that fighting unit alarmed the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). “This is a radical departure from separation of civilian law enforcement and military authority and could, quite possibly, represent a violation of law,” said Mike German, ACLU national security policy counsel.
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