[A] Accountability and Torture

Dear Friends,

The Obama Administration is defending Donald Rumsfeld in a law suit brought by an American citizen who claims he was tortured by the US.  Here is a summary of the case from NPR (here):

The lawsuit lays out a dramatic tale of the disappearance of the then-civilian contractor, an Army veteran in his 50s whose identity is being withheld from court filings for fear of retaliation. Attorneys for the man, who speaks five languages and worked as a translator for Marines collecting intelligence in Iraq, say he was preparing to come home to the United States on annual leave when he was abducted by the U.S. military and held without justification while his family knew nothing about his whereabouts or even whether he was still alive.
The government says he was suspected of helping pass classified information to the enemy and helping anti-coalition forces get into Iraq. But he was never charged with a crime, and he says he never broke the law and was risking his life to help his country.
Court papers filed on his behalf say he was repeatedly abused while being held at Camp Cropper, a U.S. military facility near the Baghdad airport dedicated to holding "high-value" detainees, then suddenly released without explanation in August 2006.
Two years later, he filed suit in U.S. District Court in Washington arguing that Rumsfeld personally approved torturous interrogation techniques on a case-by-case basis and controlled his detention without access to courts in violation of his constitutional rights.

I certainly would not be surprised to learn that Mr. Rumsfeld had done exactly what the plaintiff is alleging that he did.  What I find revolting is that the Obama Administration is claiming that legally Mr. Rumsfeld can not be held accountable for his actions.

The Obama administration has represented Rumsfeld through the Justice Department and argued that the former defense secretary cannot be sued personally for official conduct. The Justice Department also argued that a judge cannot review wartime decisions that are the constitutional responsibility of Congress and the president. And the department said the case could disclose sensitive information and distract from the war effort and that the threat of liability would impede future military decisions.

 I bet you thought that President George W. Bush had an overblown view of the powers of the executive branch of government.  He does not hold a candle to President Obama's view of the Imperial President.  Fortunately, at least one Federal court judge is unwilling to let the Obama Administration get away with this injustice.

But U.S. District Judge James Gwin rejected those arguments and said U.S. citizens are protected by the Constitution at home or abroad during wartime.
"The court finds no convincing reason that United States citizens in Iraq should or must lose previously-declared substantive due process protections during prolonged detention in a conflict zone abroad," Gwin wrote in a ruling issued Tuesday.

President Obama promised to end torture because it was wrong.  Instead of defending the people responsible for authorizing torture, he should be holding them accountable.

Thanks for reading and please comment,
The Unabashed Liberal