Home
Archive
Newsletters
Video
Blogs
Discuss
About
Search
Donate
Advertise
  • AlterNetYour turn

Support AlterNet
Do you value the information you're getting from AlterNet? Please show your support with a tax-deductible donation.


Feedback
Tell us how we're doing.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Architect of CIA Rendition Program: If Torture Prosecutions Go Ahead, Indict Clinton Too

Posted by Avi Lewis, AlterNet at 7:57 AM on May 1, 2009.


'I sent people to places where the president wanted them sent...we told (him)...you're going to have human rights problems and he said I don't care.'

Share and save this post:

      

      

Share on Facebook       

AlterNet Social Networks:
follow us on twitter
find us on Facebook

Got a tip for a post?:
Email us | Anonymous form

Get Rights and Liberties in your
mailbox!

 

I hosted a panel on Al Jazeera English the other day about Obama’s first 100 days of policy around torture, rendition and detention. It yielded a moment of inconvenient truth.
Former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, the architect of the rendition program under Bill Clinton, said what many Democrats know but would rather not hear: that when it comes to sending people to face torture in other countries, the Clinton administration may be as vulnerable to indictment as the Bush administration.
I suggested that perhaps Scheuer ought to be indicted, as the one who designed the program. He insisted that he was only following the orders of the president.
Of course Scheuer is a longtime libertarian Republican, and his contempt for his fellow panelist, the ACLU’s Jameel Jaffer, is not relaxing television. But for those who are arguing that prosecutions -- or other forms of reckoning with the policies of the last eight years -- are necessary, his point is important to confront. If you’re arguing
that history matters, then the full history of these programs and practices ought to come to light.
Watch the full panel. Scheuer’s outburst begins around 8:30.

Digg!

Tagged as: extraordinary rendition, avi lewis, al jazeera english, michael scheuer

Avi Lewis is the presenter of Fault Lines -- a fortnightly show that digs deeper into what is driving the big news stories of the day.


Is It Cruel and Unusual to Sentence Teens to Die In Prison?
The Supreme Court is hearing two cases today that will affect the fate of more than 2,500 people sentenced to life without parole as teenagers.
Post by Liliana Segura. November 9, 2009.
Students Who Exposed 30-Year-Old Wrongful Conviction Being Targeted By Chicago DA
It's shocking that the state would rather keep an innocent man behind bars than admit a mistake.
Post by Ari Berman. November 9, 2009.
The Ugly Politics of Mass Killings
Where's the liberal cover-up?
Post by Steve M.. November 7, 2009.
Advertisement
Comments Turn comments off sitewide Give us feedback »
Comments closed.
The comments for this story have been closed. Thank you to everyone who participated.
View:
Well of course they should indict Clinton.
Posted by: robert.noll on May 1, 2009 8:13 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Law breaking is law breaking. Send them all to prison. And "I vas chust followink orders" is not an acceptable excuse. People are hard wired to know when their actions are wrong. It is called a conscience and only sociopaths are minus one.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Reagan signed the treaty Posted by: Sister_Lauren
Libertarian?
Posted by: drmflorida on May 1, 2009 11:08 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I thought libertarians were supposed to be leery of abuses of state power. I'm familiar with this guy, he doesn't feel that values like human rights compare to the imperative for public safety. I think either you are misusing the term libertarian, or he is.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: Libertarian? Posted by: Sister_Lauren
all for that
Posted by: jstepp590 on May 1, 2009 12:10 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Throw Clinton in jail also if he broke the law (again). Anyone who breaks the law needs to face justice regardless of party affiliation. If the law doesn't apply to them then it's their law and doesn't apply to me either. We all know where that slippery slope will lead.

Why does our political leadership seem to have such a difficult time following the law? Maybe because we don't prosecute, ya think?!?

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

He's lying
Posted by: Ghoulman on May 1, 2009 12:54 PM   
Current rating: 3    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
... there was no rendition program under Clinton. At least, I've never heard of one and frankly, I can't see WHY one would be created AT THAT TIME let alone it being a Presidential Order (which the Bush 'memos' were).

Besides, anyone who calls themselves a libertarian Republican is a nut. I wouldn't trust this guy as far as I could throw him.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: He's lying Posted by: Liliana Segura
» RE: Was it Clinton's idea? Posted by: Sister_Lauren
» Blinded by the Light of Popularity Posted by: americansheep
A truly bipartisan inquiry.
Posted by: DrBrian on May 1, 2009 5:38 PM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I've long suspected that Obama's reluctance to take on torture, forced disappearance and murder at the hands of US officials was related to Clinton's involvement. He can't impose a partisan barrier or de facto statute of limitations, and it's clear that Clinton's hands, while not nearly as bloody as Bush's, are not entirely clean.

Nonetheless, the requirement to prosecute remains, and the trail should be followed wherever it leads. The law and human rights trump partisan loyalties.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

» RE: correction Posted by: Sister_Lauren
Yes, Avi Lewis, another reason why we won't get Bush on this issue. We can get him on 9/11 truth.
Posted by: pfgetty on May 2, 2009 2:22 AM   
Current rating: 4    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
You have provided us, Avi, with one more reason why Bush will never be prosecuted for torture.
And even more, the American people, many of them, will defend Bush on the grounds that he only cut legal corners in order to protect us all from more 9/11 attacks.

Avi, if you want to bring justice to Bush and Cheyney and the Neocons, do what you know is the right thing: present the American people with the truth of what really happened on 9/11.
There are piles of evidence that prove the complicity of Bush and his administration in 9/11. The research and work has already been done, by people like David Ray Griffin and Steven Jones and Richard Gage and Kevin Ryan. It is just sitting there, on websites like www.ae911truth.org and www.911truth.org., waiting to be exposed by journalists like you to the American people.

Recently Steven Jones and Kevin Ryan presented a scientific paper in a peer reviewed engineering journal which proves irrefutabley that the three buildings of the WTC collapsed via controlled demolition. The title is something like "Active thermite found in dust samples from the collapse of the WTC catastrophe". Google it. But there is much more evidence, all of which should bring a truly independent investigation of 9/11......an investigation not controlled by Phillip Zelikow or Henry Kissinger, both closely associated with the Neocons and Cheyney and Bush.

Avi, please bring this information to the American people. THIS will bring Bush surely to prosecution. It would truly change the world. The illegal wars and occupations and the trashing of the Constitution would end. You would be the new Daniel Ellsberg. It will take bravery on your part, as it did for Daniel, but it is truly the patriotic and honest thing to do.

Do it, Avi. Our future depends on it.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Virtues Trump 'Value'
Posted by: Purple Girl on May 2, 2009 4:35 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
The MIC loves this open ended charade of 'War on Terror'- it will guarantee dividends of decades to come. there will always be a group which sees US as the 'Evil Empire' since we are a 'superpower'.Teh War on Terror is nothing more than a Profiteering Venture, a cash cow for the War Profiteers.
Reason the Repugs have expounded 'American Values' is it clearly pays off in monatary terms. Funny they didn't choose a more ethical term like American Virtue.Ethics and Virtues have no monatary gains implied nor profit margins gained.
As for those Reditioned under Clinton- were they combatant of a War we were not involved with, so they were merely extradicted. I don'[t recall being in an Eygptian war- so they were not our war prisoners to begin with.So that High crimes criminals point is Mute.
But Extradiction is a GREAT IDEA!! The Bushies defamed our Judicial System, Our Congress, Our Office of the President, Our Military...Essentially undermining our Authority, thus our right to try these War Crimes.
There is no debate to be held over whether or not waterboarding is Torture- the Bushies made this an International Issue, not a domestic one.It's Out of Our hands.The only way to regain and prove as a nation we have retained our Virtue of Legal Ethics is to Extradict these War Criminals to Whoever Wants them.We ahve no choice but to Recuse ourselves.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

The statute of limitations.
Posted by: PJAW on May 2, 2009 5:46 AM   
Current rating: Not yet rated    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
I'm pretty sure it's already passed for prosecuting Clinton, but that's no reason to not uncover the truth, and it's certainly no reason to give the "Bush Crime Family" (thanks, Mike Malloy) a free pass.

War is always declared to be about principles and it's really always about money and power. Even Hitler's "final solution" was about money and power. And though ending the holocaust was a noble achievement, it really wasn't the prime motivating factor for the US getting into WWII, few people actually believed it was really going on.

The money and power motivation behind Bush's torture program was the confiscation of Iraq's oil reserves. Torture was used to try to establish the connection between 9-11 and Saddam, which was a failed effort but they went ahead and invaded anyway. Torturing Iraqis was simply a way to break the spirit of the Iraqi people. I don't know how well that worked, but the big oil companies did manage to wrangle "profit sharing agreements" out of the chaos.

I doubt Bush and others will be prosecuted, but they should be. President Polk should have been too, along with lots of other Presidents. What time is the game on today? Maybe we can find time later.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Exercise in futility
Posted by: 2dogarage on May 2, 2009 9:47 AM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
If the investigation into torture allegations is as revealing as the 9/11 commission's charade this will just be one more puppet show to appease the people who think they really care.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Start the goddam trials, already
Posted by: willymack on May 2, 2009 1:08 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
And we'll see where and to WHOM they lead. If we're left with only a dozen or so honest politicians, so be it. We can replace the crooks quickly, and easily survive the trauma. The important thing here is to make a beginning before it's too late.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Scheuer conviniently leaves out Reagan
Posted by: surfreality on May 2, 2009 1:23 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
From Wikipedia: " In 1984 and 1986, during a wave of terrorist attacks, Congress passed laws making air piracy and attacks on Americans abroad federal crimes. Ronald Reagan added teeth to these laws by signing a secret covert-action directive in 1986 that authorized the CIA to kidnap, anywhere abroad, foreigners wanted for terrorism. A new word entered the dictionary of U.S. foreign relations: rendition."[18]"

Scheuer is very partisan republican. He fails to mention that the Egyptians Clinton sent to Egypt had Egyptian warrants out for their arrest and that there were agreements between our governments facilitating the process where we would capture wanted Muslim Brotherhood operatives and then extradite them to Egypt.

Extraordinary rendition is when we kidnap someone without the knowledge or permission of the country where said kidnapping occurs and then send the detainee to a third country for "questioning". These operations violate international law. That is why they are covert. According to Wikipedia there were instances under Clinton where extraordinary renditions occurred. Under Bush extraordinary rendition became a policy staple. Wikipedia reports about 100 instances.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Indictment
Posted by: Archie1954 on May 2, 2009 3:12 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
That Scheurer guy is the one who should be indicted. How many laws did he manage to break in the design of his rendition program? Not only American laws but the laws of other countries seemingly broken with impunity by what anyone else would have to call Terrorists, American Terrorists, employed and paid by the American government of whom Scheurer is a prime example.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]

Goofy guy
Posted by: John Sawyer on May 2, 2009 10:04 PM   
Current rating: 5    [1 = poor; 5 = excellent]
Scheuer seems like a partisan slapstick tool.

[« Reply to this comment] [Post a new comment »] [Rate this comment: 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5]