The Battle for a Country's Soul - The New York Review of Books
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Saved by 5 people (0 private), first by anonymouse user on 2008-08-11
- Dougnoon on 2009-06-01 - Tags torture , 5.31.09 , jane_mayer
- Bmaclean on 2009-05-24 - Tags reactionary policy & governance , Bush
- James3neal on 2008-08-11 - Tags newyorkreviewofbooks , bushadministartion
- Johnfromberkeley on 2008-08-09 - Tags politics , torture , bush
- Isacson on 2008-07-27 - Tags News , and , Ideas
Public Sticky notes
By the last year of the Bush presidency, growing numbers of former administration insiders had abandoned the government with the conviction that in waging the war against terrorism, America had lost its way
Highlighted by isacson
Instead of heeding this well-intentioned dissent, however, the Bush administration invoked the fear flowing from the attacks on September 11 to institute a policy of deliberate cruelty that would have been unthinkable on September 10. President Bush, Vice President Cheney, and a small handful of trusted advisers sought and obtained dubious legal opinions enabling them to circumvent American laws and traditions. In the name of protecting national security, the executive branch sanctioned coerced confessions, extrajudicial detention, and other violations of individuals' liberties that had been prohibited since the country's founding. They turned the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel into a political instrument, which they used to expand their own executive power at the expense of long-standing checks and balances.
Highlighted by dougnoon
One of the most flagrant instances of unjust treatment was the case of Khalid el-Masri, a German citizen who was falsely identified as a member of al-Qaeda with a similar name.
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Public Comment