Rumsfeld Blamed for Torture Deaths
Alex Gibney's 2007 film Taxi to the Dark Side tells the story of Dilawar, an innocent Afghan taxi driver who drove past Bagram Air Force Base at the wrong time and ended up dead from torture.
Dilawar died on 12/10/02, six days after Habibulllah, an Islamic Mullah, was tortured to death. Habibulllah's murder came just two days after Donald Rumsfeld authorized "aggressive interrogation techniques" at Bagram.
But Rumsfeld chose Vice Admiral Albert T. Church to produce a 2004 coverup which cleared Pentagon brass, including himself. Now the Senate Armed Services Committee is putting the blame for Dilawar's murder on Rumsfeld, as Jason Leopold reports:
“Shortly after Secretary Rumsfeld's December 2, 2002 approval of his General Counsel's [William Haynes] recommendation to authorize aggressive interrogation techniques, the techniques-and the fact the Secretary had authorized them--became known to interrogators in Afghanistan. A copy oft he Secretary's memo was sent from GTMO to Afghanistan.”
SASC chairman Carl Levin wants Eric Holder to appoint a Special Prosecutor for the crimes exposed in his committee's report. When will Holder fulfill his obligations under the Convention Against Torture to act?
- Bob Fertik's blog
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