Turn Left @ hypocrisy.com

With the media focus on the economy, the Wall Street debacle and the it-would-be-funny-if-it-was-make- believe McCain meltdown, one explosive story has been lost in the shuffle. On September 12, Condoleeza Rice signed a statement in response to an 18-month investigation by the Senate Armed Services Committee stating that she led meetings in 2002 and 2003 (in the company of other senior Bush officials) to discuss the use of torture on Al Qaeda detainees. At the time, Rice was National Security Advisor. This is the first time a high-ranking official has formally acknowledged that the White House held such discussions. Torture is just one of the reasons impeachment should never have been delayed for so long, and why the process should continue in spite of the fact that Herr Bush has only a few months left. There is no statute of limitations on war crimes, so George Bush should not be allowed to find a safe haven even after he leaves office.

Condoleeza Rice knows how serious this is. She has retained legal counsel. Rice’s admission effectively makes a lie (surprise!) out of George Bush’s assertion that the abuse came at the hands of just a few bad apples. Of the meetings, Senator Carl D. Levin (D-Mich) said, “We’ve long believed they took place.” Levin, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, also stated that Rice’s admission is “new, concrete evidence that they took place in the White House.” Rice also identified others involved in meetings at various times as former Attorney General John D. Ashcroft, former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Alberto R. Gonzales (then Presidential Counsel), and Vice Presidential Counsel David S. Addington. Others have been sent the same letter as Rice, but have declined to respond. No surprise there. This is the administration that refuses to respond to anything, even subpoenas. Michael Mukasey refuses to do his job as the chief law-enforcement officer in the land. By this time in the Nixon regime, an independent prosecutor was appointed and an investigation was in full swing.

George Bush, Dick Cheney and their lawless minions have lowered the bar on American democracy. The Bush administration has effectively reduced this country to the level of those it is supposedly fighting to rid the world of. It is the height of hypocrisy: The image of George Bush riding on his white horse to rid the world of a brutal dictator (Saddam Hussein), all the while subverting the US Constitution, taking away our rights and authorizing the use of torture on detainees. Our leaders seem to have this arrogant, ugly attitude that we can break any law we deem necessary without being held accountable because we’re America. It is no wonder we are increasingly seen around the world as being brutish and arrogant. We’ve earned that status.

In June, Levin released documents that detailed a pattern of abuse and torture that was a deliberate policy of the Bush administration, not the brainchild of lower-level military personnel. The policy was approved at the highest levels of our government and was given cover by the Justice Department. The Bush administration justifies its actions by reinterpreting the law to its own pathetically-low standards, which are far less demanding than international law. However, the United States invaded a sovereign nation under false pretenses. George Bush, Dick Cheney and the rest who have participated in this disgraceful, clearly un-American activity should be shipped off to The Hague for trial under international law. At the end of the day, George Bush is no different than Pol Pot or Radovan Karadžić.