NATIONAL SECURITY
The Torture Memos

In response to a longstanding American Civil Liberties Union Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, the Obama administration yesterday released four Bush-era legal memos dating back to 2002 and 2005 that provide legal justifications for the CIA to torture al-Qaeda detainees. In a statement, President Obama asserted that the Justice Department would not seek to prosecute CIA officers who carried out the torture techniques approved by former President Bush's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC). "[I]t is our intention to assure those who carried out their duties relying in good faith upon legal advice from the Department of Justice that they will not be subject to prosecution," Obama said. In a separate statement, Attorney General Eric Holder echoed Obama's remarks, saying that "it would be unfair to prosecute dedicated men and women working to protect America for conduct that was sanctioned in advance by the Justice Department. ... The President has halted the use of the interrogation techniques described in these opinions, and this administration has made clear from day one that it will not condone torture." However, as the Washington Post noted, their "carefully worded" statements "left open the possibility...that agents and higher-level officials who may have ventured beyond the strategies approved by Bush lawyers could face legal jeopardy for their actions." Indeed, the memos, authored by the OLC's Steven Bradbury and Jay Bybee, provide legal opinions that justify 10 torture "techniques" on suspected terrorist prisoners -- specifically in this case, Abu Zubaydah. The "techniques" include slamming detainees against the wall, slapping them in the face, cramped confinement in small boxes, sleep deprivation, the use of insects placed in confined boxes, and "the waterboard."

'INSECTS' AND 'THE WATERBOARD': Bybee's Aug. 1, 2002 memo is particularly chilling as it meticulously and dispassionately goes through each of the 10 "techniques" asked to be approved for use on Zubaydah. It ultimately extracts justifications to deem them legal despite anti-torture statutes in U.S. and international law. "The shear, dull mechanics of this is almost to a lunatic degree," Newsweek's Howard Fineman said on MSNBC last night. Bybee describes "the waterboard" technique in detail (page 4), noting that its goal is to produce the perception of "'suffocation and panic,' i.e., the perception of drowning." Not only does the memo justify waterboarding's use because it caused no lasting pain or suffering on CIA agents during training (page 6), but it adds that the technique which "inflicts no pain or actual harm whatsoever, does not, in our view inflict 'severe pain or suffering.'" "The waterboard is simply a controlled acute episode, lacking the connotation of a protracted period of time generally given to suffering," Bybee writes. More disturbingly, the same memo later says that "we find that the use of the waterboard constitutes a threat of imminent death." But because the technique is not "prolonged," Bybee concludes that it "would not constitute torture within the meaning of the statute." He also notes that Zubaydah "appears to have a fear of insects" and later writes that CIA interrogators are allowed to put the detainee in "confinement boxes alone" and "introduce an insect into one of the boxes" with him. In order for the tactic to be legal, the memo says, "you must inform him that the insects will not have a sting that would produce death or severe pain." "If, however, you were to place the insect in the box without informing him that you are doing so," then in order to comply with the torture statute, "you should not affirmatively lead him to believe that any insect is present which has a sting." Therefore, an interrogator could place an insect in the box without informing Zubaydah, thus ultimately creating the possibility that he discovers the insect on his own and deems that it could "produce death or severe pain."

CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY: Oddly, Bybee's August 2002 memo acknowledges that what he just approved may not stand up in court. "Given the paucity of relevant precedent and the subjective nature of the inquiry, we cannot predict with confidence whether a court would agree with this conclusion," Bybee says. Indeed, the release of the new memos have renewed calls for an investigation into the Bush administration's authorization of torture. While Obama's statement on the memos left open the possibility, he also hinted in a recent interview that an inquiry might take place. "I think that we are moving a process forward here in the United States to understand what happened," he said. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) called the new memos "alarming" and the techniques authorized "chilling." And despite having recently said a truth commission is "not going to happen," Leahy added, "This is why my proposal for a Commission of Inquiry is necessary.  We must take a thorough accounting of what happened, not to move a partisan agenda, but to own up to what was done in the name of national security, and to learn from it." "These memos describe grotesque war crimes," Salon.com's Glenn Greenwald said, "legalized by classic banality-of-evil criminals and ordered by pure criminals -- that must be prosecuted if the rule of law is to have any meaning." Fineman said of the memos, "It's a window into a heart of darkness that shouldn't exist, and I wish we didn't have to see, but it's good that we are seeing." 

BUSH OFFICIALS SCRAMBLE FOR DEFENSE: Former Bush administration officials and others on the right are up in arms about the declassification of these torture memos. Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said yesterday that the release "harms American security" and "the best course of action would have been to have kept them classified." The release "effectively takes these techniques off the table," Hayden added, "because our enemy will know all of our approaches to him." But these techniques are already "off the table," as Obama specifically said in his statement. "I have already ended the techniques described in the memos through an Executive Order." One former Bush official anonymously attacked Obama and echoed Hayden's false-choice argument. "We have laid it all out for our enemies. This is totally unnecessary....Publicizing the techniques does grave damage to our national security by ensuring they can never be used again." But in noting that these techniques are no longer in use, Obama added that "the interrogation techniques described in these memos have already been widely reported" and "the previous Administration publicly acknowledged portions of the program." The unnamed Bush official also cited the canard that torture is necessary because of the so-called "ticking-time-bomb" scenario. "[I've] been hard pressed to find a situation where anybody" can say "that they've ever encountered the ticking bomb scenario" when interrogating terrorists, one former FBI interrogator has said. It's a "red herring" and "[i]n the real world it doesn't happen."

Under the Radar

ADMINISTRATION -- DEMOCRATIC CONGRESSMAN JOINS IN RIGHT-WING BACKLASH TO DHS REPORT: A Department of Homeland Security report leaked this week on the rise of radical right-wing extremism has incurred widespread objections from conservatives. They have rushed to express their outrage over the content of the report, with some even calling for Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to be fired. However, it's not just conservatives who are making headlines over their criticism of the report. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) said he was "dumbfounded" by the claims in the report. In a letter to Napolitano he wrote, "This report appears to raise significant issues involving the privacy and civil liberties of many Americans -- including war veterans." The Plum Line's Greg Sargent reports that as ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee in 2005, Thompson called for the exact same type of assessment of right-wing extremism. Indeed, Thompson's 2005 report cautioned, "There may be right wing terrorists here in America that want to create just as spectacular a disaster as the 9/11 attacks, and we cannot fail to meet this threat." Yesterday, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) called for a hearing about the report. Of course, neither Thompson nor King noted that a similar report on left-wing extremism was already released earlier this year.

MEDIA -- GEORGE H. W. BUSH. FOUNDATION TO HOST ECONOMIC FORUM WITH CNBC'S SANTELLI: The George H.W. Bush Presidential Library Foundation at Texas A&M has announced that the former president will host an "Economic Leadership Forum" next week that includes a panel of "distinguished leaders and recognized experts" -- one of whom is CNBC blowhard and former derivatives trader Rick Santelli. "President George Bush will host an Economic Leadership Forum featuring Maria Bartiromo, Richard Kovacevich, Lawrence Lindsey, and Rick Santelli," the announcement states. It is unclear what "recognized" expertise the library finds in Santelli. Last February during an on-air rant, Santelli famously called for a Chicago tea party to protest President Obama's housing rescue plan. The right wing immediately latched onto Santelli's rant, with some inviting him on their talk radio shows to promote it. Santelli's February rant also inspired many of the tax day "tea party" protests across the country. Now, Santelli's recent work has sparked a backlash within his own network. The New York Post reports yesterday that GE and NBC executives are worried that "CNBC has become too conservative and is beating up on Obama too much." Lindsey, who served as President George W. Bush's National Economic Council director, once predicted that "the negative effect" of the war in Iraq "will be quite small relative to the economic benefits."

Think Fast

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), the chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said yesterday that "she would hold a hearing to examine the National Security Agency's interception of domestic communications after new reports that recent wiretapping went beyond what Congress has authorized." "These are serious allegations, and we will make sure we get the facts," said Feinstein in a statement.

"I have not backed off at all from my belief that the assault weapons ban makes sense," President Obama said in Mexico City yesterday, knocking down signals from the White House that it would scuttle efforts to revive the ban. He added, however, that he is not "under any illusions that reinstating that ban would be easy."

Following the loss of roughly 5,900 jobs in 2008, "the number of newsroom jobs is now at a level last seen during the early 1980s." Last year saw "the biggest drop" in jobs that the American Society of News Editors "has recorded since it first started conducing its newsroom employment survey in 1978" as job losses doubled from 2007 when the industry shed 2,400 jobs.

According to a report from the Office of Congressional Ethics, the new independent ethics panel created by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) last year "has started 10 reviews of lawmaker misconduct." But the panel "hasn't gotten to the point of deciding whether to refer any matters to the House ethics committee."

In South Carolina, high school senior Casey Edwards has "filed a lawsuit asking the S.C. Supreme Court to decide who -- Gov. Mark Sanford or the Legislature -- controls $700 million in disputed federal stimulus money." Edwards believes that state schools need the funds, and there are indications that the court will "act swiftly" on the case.

Top executives from "14 of the nation's largest credit card companies are heading to the White House on Thursday for a meeting with senior administration officials" to discuss "efforts to increase transparency and help the economy." New and stricter regulations governing credit card companies will take affect in July 2010, but several members of congress are now working to "accelerate that time line."

While speaking at the Army War College yesterday, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates "stressed he is not yet taking a position about whether gay troops should be open about their sexuality." Last month, Gates said he wanted to push the decision "down the road a little bit."

Cindy and Meghan McCain will make an appearance at the Log Cabin Republicans' convention in Washington this weekend. Former McCain campaign chief Steve Schmidt will also make a speech urging "conservative Republicans to drop their opposition to same-sex marriage."

And finally: When Arne Duncan joined the Obama administration as Education Secretary, he and presidential aide Reggie Love were looking forward to shooting some hoops. (Duncan played pro basketball in Australia and Love was a football and basketball star at Duke.) But because they've had a "busy first three months of the new administration, there apparently hasn't been much presidential ball." "We keep saying we want to do more, but we are struggling to sort of figure it out," said Duncan.

Good News

The makers of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" have donated $747,500 to a charity devoted to improving the lives of poor children in Mumbai, India.

State Watch

MARYLAND: Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa Jackson announces her support for a federal law protecting wetlands along Chesapeake Bay.

TEXAS: Bucking Gov. Rick Perry (R), state senate tentatively votes to accept the recovery package's unemployment aid.

NEW YORK: Gov. David Paterson (D) unveils same-sex marriage bill: "It's time to take a stand."

Blog Watch

THINK PROGRESS: Maersk crew member on how they gained control over the pirates: "We're union members."

WONK ROOM: In 2010, President Bush's tax cuts will give millionaires more in tax breaks than 90 percent of Americans will earn in income.

YGLESIAS: On Fox News, Col. Ralph Peters says monitoring right-wing extremism is "racist."

THE CAPITOL FAX BLOG: Rep. Mark Kirk (R-IL) suggests shooting Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn (D) because of higher taxes.

Daily Grill

"The attitude, as summarized by Mr. [Jesse] Watters in a BillOReilly.com blog post: 'If they don't come to us, we'll go to them.'"
-- New York Times, 4/16/09, explaining O'Reilly's ambush journalism

VERSUS

"The Fox News producer responsible for most of the ambush interviews, Jesse Watters, refused repeated interview requests."
-- New York Times, 4/16/09

Internships

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