US President Barack Obama absolved CIA officers from prosecution for harsh, painful interrogation of terror suspects on Thursday, even as his administration released memos from former US president George W. Bush’s administration graphically detailing, and authorizing, such grim tactics as slamming detainees against walls, waterboarding them and keeping them naked and cold for long periods of time.
The documents published on Thursday showed legal officials from Bush’s era arguing that tactics such as waterboarding, face slapping, the use of insects to scare prisoners and sleep deprivation did not amount to torture.
“This is a time for reflection, not retribution,” Obama said. “We have been through a dark and painful chapter in our history. But at a time of great challenges and disturbing disunity, nothing will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past.”
“I have already ended the techniques described in the memos,” Obama said in a written statement released shortly after he arrived on a visit to Mexico.
However, he said: “The men and women of our intelligence community serve courageously on the front lines of a dangerous world ... We must provide them with the confidence that they can do their jobs.”
In a statement, Obama said the tactics adopted by the administration of his predecessor “undermine our moral authority and do not make us safer.”
He said he was releasing the documents to avoid “an inaccurate accounting of the past,” which would “fuel erroneous and inflammatory assumptions about actions taken by the United States.”
“In releasing these memos, it 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,” he said in a statement.
The four memos offered a stunning glimpse inside the covert interrogation program introduced after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001, which critics say amounted to torture, and Obama said undermined the US’ moral authority.
Dennis Blair, the director of National Intelligence, pledged that Washington would not use similar methods in the future.
A federal court had given the government until Thursday to either turn over the memos in response to a lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union or explain why they cannot be released.
While slamming Obama’s decision not to prosecute those carrying out the tactics, Human Rights Watch welcomed the possibility that those at the top of the chain of command could face justice.
“Notably, the president left open the possibility of prosecuting those higher up the chain who wrote the opinions and authorized the CIA to use abusive interrogation techniques and torture,” the group said in a statement.
The memos were authored by Jay Bybee and Steven Bradbury, who at the time were lawyers for Bush’s Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. Bybee is currently a federal judge.
Meanwhile, Spanish prosecutors yesterday formally recommended against an investigation into allegations that six senior Bush administration officials gave legal cover for the torture of terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay.
While the ruling is not binding, it all but dooms prospects for the case against the men going forward. On Thursday, Spain’s top law-enforcement official Candido Conde-Pumpido said he would not support an investigation against the officials — including former US attorney general Alberto Gonzales.
Prosecutors said any such investigation ought to be conducted in the US, not Spain. They also questioned the idea of bringing charges against lawyers and presidential advisers who neither carried out the alleged torture themselves, nor were ultimately responsible for ordering it.
RETHINK? The defense ministry and Navy Command Headquarters could take over the indigenous submarine project and change its production timeline, a source said Admiral Huang Shu-kuang’s (黃曙光) resignation as head of the Indigenous Submarine Program and as a member of the National Security Council could affect the production of submarines, a source said yesterday. Huang in a statement last night said he had decided to resign due to national security concerns while expressing the hope that it would put a stop to political wrangling that only undermines the advancement of the nation’s defense capabilities. Taiwan People’s Party Legislator Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) yesterday said that the admiral, her older brother, felt it was time for him to step down and that he had completed what he
Taiwan has experienced its most significant improvement in the QS World University Rankings by Subject, data provided on Sunday by international higher education analyst Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) showed. Compared with last year’s edition of the rankings, which measure academic excellence and influence, Taiwanese universities made great improvements in the H Index metric, which evaluates research productivity and its impact, with a notable 30 percent increase overall, QS said. Taiwanese universities also made notable progress in the Citations per Paper metric, which measures the impact of research, achieving a 13 percent increase. Taiwanese universities gained 10 percent in Academic Reputation, but declined 18 percent
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
UNDER DISCUSSION: The combatant command would integrate fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups to defend waters closest to the coastline, a source said The military could establish a new combatant command as early as 2026, which would be tasked with defending Taiwan’s territorial waters 24 nautical miles (44.4km) from the nation’s coastline, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday. The new command, which would fall under the Naval Command Headquarters, would be led by a vice admiral and integrate existing fast attack boat and anti-ship missile groups, along with the Naval Maritime Surveillance and Reconnaissance Command, said the source, who asked to remain anonymous. It could be launched by 2026, but details are being discussed and no final timetable has been announced, the source