Did the Inquisitors Write Memos?
Yesterday four “Top Secret” memos to John Rizzo of the CIA were posted on the web. Three were over 20 pages and written by Steven Bradbury. I read the 18 pages of the August 1, 2002, memo written by Jay Bybee (above right), a Mormon. Bybee is now comfortably a judge for the Federal 9th circuit. Ironically, he said he wanted this on his tombstone, “He always tried to do the right thing.” …and even more ironically, those Friends of the Inquisition, the Spanish, (now doing the right thing) are considering trying him for war crimes.
His memo centered around a ranking Al Qaeda prisoner, Abu Zubaydah.(Aside: why don’t the Arabs use “u” after “q?” There’s one in the Quran—sometimes.) The topic was whether what they were going to do to Zubaydah constituted torture—things with euphemistic names like “walling,” “attention grasp,” “insects in the confinement box,” sleep deprivation, and (that ever-popular surf sport ) “waterboarding.” Each technique was described and discussed in detail, particularly how it might affect the 31-year old Zubaydah’s health and physical condition. Funny how religious folks continue to try to find the right thing to do. One might even consider Zubaydah as religious. Ergo, are all religious folks whack jobs?
Now, check out the guy in the picture on the left. I’m sure my teenage son wants to be just like him. According to the torture memo, the 26,829 of these guys were trained between 1992 and 2001 in SERE, Survival, Evasion, Resistance, Escape. According to their web site, SERE is a “small specialized career field in the US Air Force comprised of approximately 325 enlisted personnel. Air Force SERE Specialists train aircrew members and high risk of capture personnel from all branches of the military. The students are trained in skills which allow them to survive in all climatic conditions as well as how to survive while being held captive.” (http://www.gosere.com/medium.html) The SERE guys appear to be the torture experts—giving and getting—and are cited several times in the Bybee’s memo. I also learned from the memo that the Navy waterboards our sailors. Do we really torture our own citizens when they join the Navy, even if they suffer no permanent damage? Scary, no? …and do the other services keep up –our guys are tougher than yours kind of competition? I’m sure it’s all secret.
In relation to the techniques proposed, Bybee discussed what physical and mental torture is under the law. He even talks about research in these areas. I was particularly intrigued that he addressed the “intent” to cause severe pain and suffering. Acute episodes were not considered suffering because they lacked “the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering. To violate the statute, an individual must have the specific intent to inflict severe pain or suffering.” All this smacks of Orwell.
So, Bybee, the upright citizen, presently well-rewarded for his work, concluded at the end of 18 pages “Based on the foregoing, and based on the facts that you have provided, we conclude that the interrogation procedures that you propose would not violate Section 2340A. We wish to emphasize that this is our best reading of the law; however, you should be aware that there are no cases construing this statute; just as there have been no prosecutions brought under it.” In true cover-your-ass fashion, he ends with a caveat that he just might be wrong…and I think he is… and should suffer consequences.
Did you know that bassets buck? This happens at happy times, but also when cutting their toenails--as I attempted to do yesterday. Imagine trying to pin down a bucking basset, get the clippers around the nail and squeeze at the same time--or, for the real problem nails, position the dremel tool so as not to grind down the foot pads. All this is no mean trick, but the deed was done with a minimum of yelping and a victorious wrestling match.
