Posted on 01/03/2005 2:22:12 AM PST by gr8eman
During upcoming confirmation hearings for Attorney General-nominee Alberto Gonzales, senior Democrats want to screen infamous videotapes showing Iraqis being abused at Abu Ghraib prison, top sources tell the DRUDGE REPORT.
The curtain is raised Thursday for the Senate Judiciary Committee's showdown with Gonzales.
The Bush White House counsel will be grilled about his role in formulating the administration's legal policies on coercive techniques in interrogations -- techniques some Democrats believe led to outright torture!
Yet it's the grainy prison videos, shot by a soldier's cellphone and never before viewed by the public, that threaten to turn the New Year ugly: A video of a handcuffed prisoner beating his head against a wall; a video of a group of hooded men shown masturbating.
The Pentagon and the White House hold the videos in their possession and have not authorized any public release, including to the senate.
One top Democrat senate source said over the holiday weekend: "Mr. Gonzales should explain to us, to the public if this was policy. I am demanding we move to full disclosure."
Republicans counter showing the videos during the Gonzales hearings would jeopardize evidence in trials of the soldiers involved in the abuse.
Sen. John Warner (R-VA) chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee has said making the videos public might endanger more men and women serving in the armed forces in Iraq.
DEMS DIVIDED
"Normally, I side with disclosure and openness, but in this case, the material is evidence," Sen. Schumer (D-NY) said last year.
Sen. Carl Levin (D-MI), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the videos should be made public and that they proved to him that there was an organized policy of abusing prisoners to get information -- approved by the White House.
Top Hill insiders explain Sen. Ted Kennedy (D-MA) has not ruled out exploring the abuse at Abu Ghraib with Gonzales in open session. But a well-placed Kennedy source said the Attorney General's confirmation hearings will not be turned into a showdown with the military.
Developing...
Mr. Gonzales will be as skillful as C. Rice in answering the Rats. Remember that he is a great jurist and I'd have liked to see him picked for a SC seat.
Not out of the question. There should be three or four openings the rest of the Bush term.
Furthermore, it would inflame the Iraqi elections, at the very worst time. Anyone who pushes for this crap to be released now is incredibly irresponsible -- they'll get more people in Iraq killed (both our soldiers, and Iraqi citizens), and they'll be "poisoning the well" for democracy in Iraq.
I don't think there will be 4 seats free, during the next 4 years. Probably only 2 seats. The problem is with the liberals in Court, for example Stevens. If he will not die, surely he will not retire!
Do you know any responsible Rat?
Saddam's shreders are the big favorite with the RATS. As long as it's saddam using them, that is. RATS assure us the prisoners would prefer going thru saddam's shreders than undergoing this embarassment, horrors! , not the embrassment!
Well I am demanding that we not move to full disclosure because of the damage that would do to our country and because of the additional casualties that would inflict on our troops in Iraq. Hey Mr. "Democrat Senate Source", send me a freepmail if you have the guts to discuss this. It's trash and traitors like you that have undermined our entire effort in Iraq.
Anything for political purposes huh?
Can this harm the President, sure. Can this get soldiers killed? Yes. Can this get any number of civillian nationals in the middle east killed? Yes. Can this take away from Iraqi elctions? Yes. Can this overshadow the fact that our government has pledged $350 million to tsunami relief that mostly affects the largest Muslim nation on Earth? Yes.
What is to be gained on this? Political gotcha? National security means nothing to these people. The fact that they're even contemplating it shows not only how out of touch they are with the world but how far the are from ever regaining any kind of majority or relevent opposition status anytime soon. The American people were shocked last February over this, doing it now is just plain politcal.
You lost, get over it.
Zell Miller. But don't ask me to name *two*...
Go Leahy Go!
For some reason, this sounds more like the work of the moronic Mark Dayton. He's making his very best effort to shot himself in the foot with these hearings.
Senators Dodd and Lieberman should be cleaning up their own state Universities rather than use a war time prison story already shopped with "Dan Rather" type facts.
If the Democrats do this, the backlash will be monumental. Moreover, it would allow the White House to respond in kind with other photographic evidence of terrorists committing more brutal crimes---videos and photos that are so shocking, the Democrats would be drowned out in the horrible screams.
If the Democrats are even this stupid, I would be surprised.
Gonzales is pro-abortion. Why is anyone at FR defending someone who has the blood of innocent children on his hands?
MEMORANDUM RE: LEGAL STANDARDS ON TORTURE
(December 31, 2004)
New Memorandum From The Office Of Legal Counsel Of The U.S. Department Of Justice To The Deputy Attorney General, Revising The Standards On What Constitutes Torture
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/terrorism/dojtorture123004mem.pdf
Related Material:
DOD Independent Panel Final Report - Abu Ghraib
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/dod/abughraibrpt.pdf
The Taguba Report
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/iraq/tagubarpt.html
Dept. of Justice Aug 1, 2002 Memo to White House Counsel Re: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/doj/bybee80102mem.pdf
Asst. Atty. General Bybee Aug. 1, 2002 Letter to Whi! te House Counsel On Interrogation And Torture
http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/doj/bybee80102ltr.html
They never learn.
The Democrats in the Senate and House are the best allies the Islamic terrorists have.
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