The Spanish's Judge vs. Bush's Architects of Torture

Hallelujah, finally someone in authority is going after at least
some of the Bushies who were the architects of the torture policies.

Tellingly, it's not President Barack Obama or Attorney General Eric Holder.

In fact, it's not anyone in the United States.

No, it's the Spanish judge Baltasar Garzon, the same man who took down General Augusto Pinochet.

He's drawn up a 98-page complaint (here's a crude, computerized translation) against six former Bush Administration officials and has handed the complaint over to Spanish prosecutors.

The officials under investigation are:

Alberto Gonzales, who was White House counsel, and then Attorney General.

David Addington, Cheney's chief of staff.

John Yoo, the Justice Department lawyer who wrote up some of the most infamous memos on torture.

Jay Bybee, who also drafted Justice Department policy on torture and amazingly is now an appellate court judge.

And William Haynes and Douglas Feith, who were high up in the Defense Department.

I've looked at the complaint, in rough translation as well as in its
original Spanish, and it lays out, in detail, how these six individuals
tried to "justify the unjustifiable" and legalize war crimes.

For instance, it cites a visit by Addington and Haynes to Guantanamo
on September 25, 2002, where Addington ordered a lieutenant colonel to
"do what needs to be done" in direct reference to obtaining information
from a prisoners there.

It says that a memo Haynes drew up, and Rumsfeld approved, a list of "18 forms of torture."

It says that the six people named were all lawyers and, malevolently
used their legal skills "actively and decisively in the development,
approval, and launching" of a dubious legal framework.

This framework denied "basic rights to a number of important
prisoners," it protected "people who participate in illegal activities
and torture, and it was designed, "above all, to establish the absolute
impunity for all officials, soldiers, doctors, and other staff" in
Guantanamo.

Congratulations to Judge Garzon for refusing to accept impunity.

My only wish is that Judge Garzon would expand his list of targets
to include not only the six mentioned above, but also Rumsfeld, Cheney,
and yes, Bush, too.

Because they all were in on it.