This sanctimonious prick knows that if he honestly shares the requested information that it could derail his chance for another four years as Assistant Jesus. And I'd bet a couple of Units that 'his son who is on active duty' is stationed on the Canadian border at worst.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=3&u=/nm/20040608/pl_nm/security_torture_ashcroft_dc
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) on Tuesday refused to release memos detailing U.S. torture policy as lawmakers accused him of trying to hide how the Bush administration has justified the abuse of prisoners.
Several U.S. senators demanded he release copies of memos obtained by newspapers that showed Ashcroft's Justice Department (news - web sites) had offered justification to use torture of al Qaeda detainees if it were done in the name of national security.
During three hours of testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) -- a session marked by several sharp exchanges -- Ashcroft refused to provide copies of the memos, saying they were part of his private advice to the president.
"We believe that to provide this kind of information would impair the ability of advice-giving in the executive branch," Ashcroft said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said critical information was being withheld from the Congress. "These memos clearly do exist, and ... they appear to be an effort to redefine torture and narrow the prohibition against it by carving out a class of something called exceptional interrogation," she said.
"So these memos actually either reverse or substantially alter 30 years of interpretation by our body, as well as the executive, of the Geneva Conventions."
Ashcroft said it was not the Justice Department's policy to define torture.
But he did say the international rules governing treatment of detainees did not apply to groups like al Qaeda since only countries are signatories to the treaty.
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts warned that abuses like those recently uncovered in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (news - web sites) occur when international laws regarding torture are not followed.
"The memoranda claim that existing laws and international treaties prohibiting torture do not apply (in certain circumstances)," he said.
"We know when we have these kinds of orders what happens," Kennedy added, holding up photographs of the prisoners mistreated at the prison near Baghdad. "This is what directly results when you have that kind of memoranda out there."
Ashcroft said the administration had done nothing that contributed to the abuses in Abu Ghraib, and said the Justice Department was investigating the matter that has sparked an international outcry.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the committee, said it was "inexcusable" to read about memos in newspapers then have them denied to the Senate.
"It is troubling to see Attorney General Ashcroft take the Bush administration into cover-up mode as the Senate tries to get to the bottom of the prison abuse scandal," Leahy said. "If government agencies have rationalized the use of torture, that would seem to go to the heart of what we are investigating."
Bush has not directed or ordered any conduct that would violate the U.S. Constitution or any treaties dealing with terrorism that the United States has signed, Ashcroft said.
He also said that President Bush (news - web sites) had ordered the Defense Department to treat al Qaeda captives "humanely."
Ashcroft had one of his sharpest exchanges with Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat from Delaware, who said the U.S. Congress had a right to ensure the administration was not abusing the Constitution or treaties.
"There's a reason why we sign these treaties: to protect my son in the military," Biden said. "That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured, they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it."
Ashcroft responded that he too had a son in the military now on active duty. "I'm aware of those considerations. And I care about your son," he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&e=3&u=/nm/20040608/pl_nm/security_torture_ashcroft_dc
By Deborah Charles
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Attorney General John Ashcroft (news - web sites) on Tuesday refused to release memos detailing U.S. torture policy as lawmakers accused him of trying to hide how the Bush administration has justified the abuse of prisoners.
Several U.S. senators demanded he release copies of memos obtained by newspapers that showed Ashcroft's Justice Department (news - web sites) had offered justification to use torture of al Qaeda detainees if it were done in the name of national security.
During three hours of testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee (news - web sites) -- a session marked by several sharp exchanges -- Ashcroft refused to provide copies of the memos, saying they were part of his private advice to the president.
"We believe that to provide this kind of information would impair the ability of advice-giving in the executive branch," Ashcroft said.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a California Democrat, said critical information was being withheld from the Congress. "These memos clearly do exist, and ... they appear to be an effort to redefine torture and narrow the prohibition against it by carving out a class of something called exceptional interrogation," she said.
"So these memos actually either reverse or substantially alter 30 years of interpretation by our body, as well as the executive, of the Geneva Conventions."
Ashcroft said it was not the Justice Department's policy to define torture.
But he did say the international rules governing treatment of detainees did not apply to groups like al Qaeda since only countries are signatories to the treaty.
Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts warned that abuses like those recently uncovered in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq (news - web sites) occur when international laws regarding torture are not followed.
"The memoranda claim that existing laws and international treaties prohibiting torture do not apply (in certain circumstances)," he said.
"We know when we have these kinds of orders what happens," Kennedy added, holding up photographs of the prisoners mistreated at the prison near Baghdad. "This is what directly results when you have that kind of memoranda out there."
Ashcroft said the administration had done nothing that contributed to the abuses in Abu Ghraib, and said the Justice Department was investigating the matter that has sparked an international outcry.
Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, the senior Democrat on the committee, said it was "inexcusable" to read about memos in newspapers then have them denied to the Senate.
"It is troubling to see Attorney General Ashcroft take the Bush administration into cover-up mode as the Senate tries to get to the bottom of the prison abuse scandal," Leahy said. "If government agencies have rationalized the use of torture, that would seem to go to the heart of what we are investigating."
Bush has not directed or ordered any conduct that would violate the U.S. Constitution or any treaties dealing with terrorism that the United States has signed, Ashcroft said.
He also said that President Bush (news - web sites) had ordered the Defense Department to treat al Qaeda captives "humanely."
Ashcroft had one of his sharpest exchanges with Sen. Joseph Biden, a Democrat from Delaware, who said the U.S. Congress had a right to ensure the administration was not abusing the Constitution or treaties.
"There's a reason why we sign these treaties: to protect my son in the military," Biden said. "That's why we have these treaties. So when Americans are captured, they are not tortured. That's the reason, in case anybody forgets it."
Ashcroft responded that he too had a son in the military now on active duty. "I'm aware of those considerations. And I care about your son," he said.
