Wednesday, August 1, 2012

TEN YEARS AGO (US Hall of Fame)


en.wikipedia.org

John Choon Yoo is an American attorney, law professor, and author.

As a former official in the United States Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration, Yoo became known as the author of the "Torture Memos" (see Wikipedia for more photos and info)

John Choon Yoo was born in Korea, studied at Harvard and Yale and despite such a privilege and what we might consider places of special scholarship in law and careful oversight, what he put in place is STILL reverberating as a terrible scar on the reputation of America world-wide. The doors to torture and intimidation without justice or reprieve had been set in motion and the bells of this horror are still reverberating as if without end.

As a former official in the United States Department of Justice during the George W. Bush administration, he became known as the author of the "Torture Memos" (see Wikipedia for more photos and info)

News From World Can't Wait

I've got to confess… when I connected to World Can't Wait in 2006, some prisoners at Guantanamo had been tortured for four years. I had other things on my mind and, probably more important, people to blame for the crimes of our government.

The blame game was easy, and disguised responsibility for the evil being done in my name. But it didn't close Guantanamo. Or release survivors of that hellhole.

The clock is ticking. August 1st marks the 10th anniversary of the adoption of professor John Yoo's "Torture Memos," which sanctioned mental and physical torment and coercion practiced by the state. It's been 9 years since those same documents were found legally defective and withdrawn. The Bush Gang left the stage, Barack Obama took the helm, and 168 prisoners remain at Guantanamo, with several thousand more left in Bagram, Afghanistan.

These men must not be forgotten, or their stories conveniently swept under the rug for the remainder of this election season. My donation to World Can't Wait today will help send an orange-jumpsuited contingent to the Democratic National Convention [ http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1170/p/salsa/web/common/public/signup?signup_page_KEY=6926 ] to represent the victims of brutal prison policy, and all of us who say NO to torture.

Sincerely,
Curt Wechsler, editor of FireJohnYoo.net

Read the original memos, courtesy torturingdemocracy.org:

Memo from Jay Bybee to Alberto Gonzales here

DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: "Standards for Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. 2340 - 2340A"
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel In what has become notorious as the "torture memo," Jay Bybee signs off on an opinion authored by John Yoo. The memorandum systematically dismisses numerous U.S. federal laws, treaties and international law prohibiting the use of torture, essentially defining the term out of existence.

Letter from John Yoo to Alberto Gonzales here

DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: N/A
AUTHOR: John Yoo, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel John Yoo writes to White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales warning of potential threats of international prosecution regarding the administration's interrogation policies. Yoo notes that "Interrogations of al Qaeda members ... cannot constitute a war crime" because of the Presidential determination that Geneva's protections do not apply.

Memo from Jay Bybee to the CIA here

DATE: August 1, 2002
SUBJECT: Memorandum for [REDACTED] Interrogation of [REDACTED]
AUTHOR: Jay Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Office of Legal Counsel Written by the Office of Legal Counsel's Jay Bybee and sent to the Central Intelligence Agency, this heavily redacted document was released to the ACLU in 2008. It details "advising the CIA regarding interrogation methods it may use against al Qaeda members," and in one un-redacted portion, argues that "to violate the statute, an individual must have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering. Based on the information you have provided us, we believe those carrying out these procedures would not have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering."

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Courtesy of World Can't Wait - National: http://www.worldcantwait.org 866.973.4463

14 comments:

CN said...

SIMPLE ACTION: http://www.ccrjustice.org/get-involved/action/demand-accountability-u.s.-torture

CN said...

http://www.minnpost.com/christian-science-monitor/2012/05/torture-memos-author-cant-be-sued-harsh-interrogations-court-rules

http://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2012/08/us-has-never-held-accountable-those-who-authorized-torture#comment-149895

Also, keep checking out recent developments at the following:

International Justice Network

Center for Constitutional Rights

North Carolina Stop Torture Now

Veterans for Peace

Democracy Now on Bagram August 1, 2012

World Can't Wait

Code Pink

TAASC

SOAW.org

CN said...

John Choon Yoo - Berkeley Law - Berkeley Law - Faculty Profileswww.law.berkeley.edu

Title: Professor of Law Email Address: jyoo@law.berkeley.edu. FSU Contact: Don E. Johnson.

Facebookwww.facebook.com/pages/Fire-John-Choon-Yoo/338637458808

CN said...

Now I will post other key players in making torture law under the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC)

Jay Bybee: The Man Behind Water-Boarding)
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1894309,00.html

CN said...

David Spears Addington was legal counsel and chief of staff to former Vice President Dick Cheney, and is now vice president of domestic and economic policy studies at The Heritage Foundation. Wikipedia

CN said...

Alberto R. Gonzales was the 80th, and the first Hispanic United States Attorney General, appointed in February 2005 by President George W. Bush, becoming the highest-ranking Hispanic in executive government to date. Wikipedia

And he still is deigning to speak as an authority of US law:
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/06/alberto-gonzales-obama-may-have-violated-his-oath-of-office-with-immigration-move.php

CN said...

Jack Landman Goldsmith is a Harvard Law School professor who has written a number of texts regarding international law, cyber law, and national security law. Wikipedia

From October 2003 to July 2004,[3] he served under Attorney General John Ashcroft and Deputy Attorney General James Comey[4] as an United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel in the Department of Justice, and wrote a book about his experiences there called The Terror Presidency. Although helpful -- the book was still self-exonerating, I thought and did go nearly far enough in expressing dismay at what the OLC did during the time he held his position.

CN said...

Stephen G. Bradbury, served as Acting AAG from 2005-2007 (nominated June 23, 2005; nomination approved by Senate Judiciary Committee but never voted on by full Senate), continued to function as senior appointed official in charge of OLC until Jan. 20, 2009

There seems to be quite a bit of controversy and mystery about this man who bridged both GWB 2nd term and Obama's presidency until 2009:

http://christyhardinsmith.firedoglake.com/2009/03/02/doj-releases-olc-memos-why-hide-bradburys-legal-smackdown/USDOJ: Office of Legal Counselwww.justice.gov/olc/

CN said...

Also see:
www.aclu.org/accountability/olc.htmlThe Bush Admin's Secret OLC Memos. August 24, 2009:

CN said...

Question what's STILL happening in the Obama Admin:

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/07/congress-disclose-obama-targeted-killing-memos

http://www.constitutioncampaign.org/blog/#.UBm2eLSe59Yurrent News8/1

Dave Lindorff, Nation of Change, Where's the Outrage: Nobody Seems to Care as America Becomes a Police State

8/1, Andrea Stone, Huffington Post, Drone Privacy Bill Would Put In Safeguards On Surveillance (Ha!)

visit the People's Blog for the Constitution at Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC.org)

CN said...

Also find related items at
No More Crudades blog:

http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com/2012/07/franz-kafka-lives-at-guantanamo-and.html

http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com/2012/07/former-chief-prosecutor-at-gitmo-to.html

MONDAY, JULY 30, 2012:
10th anniversary of justifying torture

CN said...

Andy Worthington continues to be among the very TOP experts on Gitmo and related. Please look him up, read his books and support him any way you are able.

http://www.andyworthington.co.uk/2012/08/01/on-the-10th-anniversary-of-yoo-and-bybees-torture-memos-col-morris-davis-reminds-americans-about-justice-and-the-law/#comments

CN said...

Plz check out my other blogsite:
http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com

CN said...

Plz check out my other blogsite:
http://nomorecrusades.blogspot.com