Thursday, June 17, 2004
So evidence has come to light directly implicating Rumsfeld in violating international law regarding the treatment of Iraqi prisoners:
What's the official defense of Rumsfeld's order? -- Perhaps, Ashcroft's favorite, the tried and true in-the-interest-of-national-security-we-can't-tell-you-why-he-did-it-but-there-is-a-very-good-reason defense? Or maybe the just a terse, "Trust us. We're experts."? Good old changing the subject? No, no, they're going with the oldest political excuse in the book, blaming the guy who just resigned:
Which, you know, maybe sheds a little a light on why George Tenet did what he did.
Pentagon officials tell NBC News that late last year, at the same time U.S. military police were allegedly abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison, U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered that one Iraqi prisoner be held "off the books" hidden entirely from the International Red Cross and anyone else in possible violation of international law.
What's the official defense of Rumsfeld's order? -- Perhaps, Ashcroft's favorite, the tried and true in-the-interest-of-national-security-we-can't-tell-you-why-he-did-it-but-there-is-a-very-good-reason defense? Or maybe the just a terse, "Trust us. We're experts."? Good old changing the subject? No, no, they're going with the oldest political excuse in the book, blaming the guy who just resigned:
At the request of CIA Director George Tenet, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ordered the military to secretly hold a suspected terrorist in Iraq, a Pentagon spokesman said.
[ ... ]
"The director of central intelligence requested he not be assigned an internment serial number while the CIA worked to determnine his precise disposition," Whitman said.
Which, you know, maybe sheds a little a light on why George Tenet did what he did.
