What “special character”?
Military’s Opposition to Harsh Interrogation Is Outlined
By NEIL A. LEWIS
Published: July 28, 2005
WASHINGTON, July 27 – Senior military lawyers lodged vigorous and detailed dissents in early 2003 as an administration legal task force concluded that President Bush had authority as commander in chief to order harsh interrogations of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, newly disclosed documents show.
Despite the military lawyers’ warnings, the task force concluded that military interrogators and their commanders would be immune from prosecution for torture under federal and international law because of the special character of the fight against terrorism.</i>
I guess a war against people that we largely armed and recruited during the Reagan and Bush administrations counts as “special character” all right. So those people who best understand the effect of torture on troops in battle- military leaders, that is- warned Bush against harsh interrogation of prisoners in Gitmo. They were of course ignored.
