A 2003 decision by the Board of Veterans Affairs found that SERE mock torture techniques had caused PTSD in a serviceman. This directly contradicts the Bush-era OLC claims that there were no reports of “prolonged mental harm” from exposure to the SERE program. SERE techniques were reverse-engineered for torture purposes by both the CIA and the Department of Defense.

A good amount of documentation on the involvement of psychologists in the torture and abuse of detainees or “terror suspects.” And, a new study provides even more revelations on the involvement of physicians making it increasingly clear that medical professionals put limits on ethical standards they were expected to follow in order to help the CIA interrogate detainees

Eight years is enough! Fast Against Torture commemorates eight years since the Yoo/Bybee torture memos were written.

Liz Cheney seems to be lashing out in an attempt to distract from the real issue of the Department of Justice investigation.

Did the DOJ break its own rules and cover up some serious lawbreaking?

Yoo was under “significant pressure” to justify torture in the OPR Report

Happy Monday and welcome to my letter writing campaign for torture accountability. Last week was not a good week for the cause. The release of the Office of Professional Responsibility report with the conclusion that Mr. Yoo and Judge Bybee showed only poor judgment in their ginning up of legal cover for torture is a travesty. The Associate Attorney General David Margolis overrode the two previous versions of the report which called for them to be referred to their local Bar Associations for professional misconduct. Instead they are very mildly admonished and let go their merry way.

"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"

There is still an avenue to pursue and that is House and Senate Judiciary Committee hearings. I would love to tell you this was going to be a place where things will be different, but the reality is that it is likely to be a lot of smoke and very little fire. However giving up is not an option, at least me. So let’s take all the shots we can and keep this issue alive.

Today we will be writing to Judiciary Chair Conyers, below is this weeks letter:

Dear Representative Conyers;

I write you today in the hopes that you, in your role as Judiciary Committee Chairman will act to redress a grave injustice. You are aware of the release of the long awaited Office of Professional Responsibility report in the matter of the so-called Torture Memos.

The conclusion that this report comes to has widely been reported to be the work of Associate Attorney General Margolis. He overrode the conclusion of the report that Judge Bybee and Professor Yoo should be referred to their State Bar Associations for disciplinary action.

Under normal circumstances this might be an acceptable conclusion, if the matter they were being sanctioned for were not so serious. It has become clearer over time that Mr. Yoo and Judge Bybee actions were intended to facilitate the circumvention of Federal Law and International Treaties. There are only two conclusions for the actions of these men, either they are so incompetent as attorneys as to be unfit to be members of the Bar or they acted in a way that was premeditated to provide a particular outcome.

It’s time for the Justice Department to release the OPR report. It’s been due for too long now.

The involvement of Margolis in defanging the OPR report is perhaps not an incidental fact.
The role of Margolis, and the man himself, deserve a closer look. It does not take long to see that 40+ year DoJ veteran David Margolis has some skeletons in his closet, and that his track record is not unblemished.

Happy Monday and welcome to the Dog’s letter writing campaign for torture accountability under the law. This is an effort to keep the issue of accountability for the apparent state sponsored torture program of the Bush administration alive. It works as follows; every Monday the Dog writes a letter to the leaders who can influence the decision to move from our half-hearted and weak-kneed investigation of a “few bad apples” to a full scale and independent investigation of all the people who conspired to circumvent our torture statutes and who carried out actual acts of torture. You get involved by either using this letter as the starting point for your own, or by cutting and pasting the letter over your signature. The Dog even provides the e-mail links, you just provide a little bit of time.