The Ratio

Retired U.S. Army Col. Larry Wilkerson tells it like it is:

"There's no question in my mind that we did. There's no question in my mind that we may be still doing it," Wilkerson said on CNN's "Late Edition."

"There's no question in my mind where the philosophical guidance and the flexibility in order to do so originated -- in the vice president of the United States' office," he said. "His implementer in this case was [Defense Secretary] Donald Rumsfeld and the Defense Department."

At another point in the interview, Wilkerson said "the vice president had to cover this in order for it to happen and in order for Secretary Rumsfeld to feel as though he had freedom of action."

His saying it is a "pleasant" surprise, but the implications are neither pleasant nor a surprise. What was a surprise was the reported retort from Cheney to earlier remarks from Stansfield Turner:

In a statement responding to Turner's remark, Cheney said his views "are reflected in the administration's policy. Our country is at war and our government has an obligation to protect the American people from a brutal enemy that has declared war upon us."

"We are aggressively finding terrorists and bringing them to justice and anything we do within this effort is within the law," the statement said, adding that the United States "does not torture."

Sure its the kind of doublespeak that flows from Cheney's forked tongue like milk from a she-goat's teat; but compare it to Bush's statement in Panama:

Anything we do ... to that end in this effort, any activity we conduct, is
within the law. We do not torture

They are stating quite clearly that they consider themselves above the law.

Tags: Torture