Rep. Peter King Is a Terrible Person

Posted by Booman, Booman Tribune at 5:30 AM on August 26, 2009.

 Roughly one hundred people have died in U.S. custody since September 11, 2001. But Rep. Peter King (R-NY) has the temerity to say this:

"You're talking about threatening to kill a guy, threatening to attack his family, threatening to use an electric drill on him — but never doing it," King said. "You have that on the one hand — and on the other you have the [interrogator's] attempt to prevent thousands of Americans from being killed."

"When Holder was talking about being 'shocked' [before the report's release], I thought they were going to have cutting guys' fingers off or something — or that they actually used the power drill," he said.

Nevermind that King just detailed several felonies that he has no interest in prosecuting, he's simply lying when he says that our armed and intelligence forces never actually carried out their threats. I take no pleasure in reminding you of this Human Rights Watch report that is now four years old.

Since August 2002, nearly 100 detainees have died while in the hands of U.S. officials in the global “war on terror.” According to the U.S. military’s own classifications, 34 of these cases are suspected or confirmed homicides; Human Rights First has identified another 11 in which the facts suggest death as a result of physical abuse or harsh conditions of detention. In close to half the deaths Human Rights First surveyed, the cause of death remains officially undetermined or unannounced. Overall, eight people in U.S. custody were tortured to death.

Despite these numbers, four years since the first known death in U.S. custody, only 12 detainee deaths have resulted in punishment of any kind for any U.S. official. Of the 34 homicide cases so far identified by the military, investigators recommended criminal charges in fewer than two thirds, and charges were actually brought (based on decisions made by command) in less than half. While the CIA has been implicated in several deaths, not one CIA agent has faced a criminal charge. Crucially, among the worst cases in this list – those of detainees tortured to death – only half have resulted in punishment; the steepest sentence for anyone involved in a torture-related death: five months in jail.

Despite this appalling record, and appalling lack of accountability, Rep. King wants to attack the Democrats and the Department of Justice in a "scorched-earth" campaign.

Pressed on whether interrogators had actually broken the law, King said he didn't think the Geneva Convention "applies to terrorists," and that the line between permitted and outlawed interrogation policies in the Bush years was "a distinction without a difference."

"Why is it OK to waterboard someone, which causes physical pain, but not threaten someone and not cause pain?" he asked, warning of a "chilling" effect on future CIA behavior.

"You will have thousands of lives that will be lost, and the blood will be on Eric Holder's hands," he said.

King faulted his own party leaders for an insufficient response to yesterday's announcement.

"They’ve declared war on the CIA. We should resist and fight back as hard as we can," he said. "It should be a scorched earth policy. ... This isn't just another policy. This goes to the heart of our national defense. We should do whatever we have to do."

This is captured-in-Bush Era-amber rhetoric, and it is total bullshit. The Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture establish "human" rights, not just rights for people who are not suspected of terrorism. Eric Holder never said that it is okay to waterboard people. He testified at his confirmation hearing that waterboarding is torture and is prohibited by law. Eric Holder is not declaring war on the CIA. And torturing people is not something that goes to the heart of our national defense.

We can't allow this debate to take place within false parameters. People were murdered and people were tortured.

Tagged as: torture, obama, justice department, interrogation, enhanced interrogation, Peter King

Booman is the proprietor of the Booman Tribune.