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Torturing the truth and David Miliband's apology too little too late

By John Hirst

Torturing the truth and David Miliband's apology too little too late

For years the Bush administration said it was not true, that those who claimed that torture was taking place at Guantánamo Bay, were in fact suckers for al-Qaida propaganda.

Were not the terrorists trained at camps in Afghanistan to claim ill treatment once captured? And could you really believe what a load of Muslims and human rights lawyers were saying, over officials from the US government and military? Men in uniforms and men standing on White House and Pentagon podiums, time after time said categorically that the US does not use torture.

The US military, interrogators at Guantánamo, the Bush administration from the president down through his ranks of officials and aides, all hung together in denying the allegations. Until now.

'War on terror' was wrong

Seven years on from 9/11 it is clear that we need to take a fundamental look at our efforts to prevent extremism and its terrible offspring, terrorist violence. Since 9/11, the notion of a "war on terror" has defined the terrain. The phrase had some merit: it captured the gravity of the threats, the need for solidarity, and the need to respond urgently - where necessary, with force. But ultimately, the notion is misleading and mistaken. The issue is not whether we need to attack the use of terror at its roots, with all the tools available. We must. The question is how.

Miliband's involvement in the torture here and here.

The buck does not stop with Bush leaving the White House. Blair, Straw and Miliband should face a public inquiry for their roles in the illegal Iraq war and torture of detainees.

Full post as published by prisonlawinsideout on January 15, 2009 (boomark / email).