Can the President Bury People Alive?
The shameful testimony of John Yoo.
At the House Judiciary Committee today, Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) asked the ‘torture memo author’ if the president of the United States can have suspects buried alive in the interest of national security.
You read that right: “Buried alive.”
John Yoo, the former Deputy Assistant Attorney General under the Bush Administration, avoided the question. And what does that mean, exactly? It means that John Yoo does not feel comfortable saying the the president cannot bury people alive. And that, is pure insanity.
Conyers: Could the President order a suspect buried alive?
Yoo: Uh, Mr. Chairman, I don’t think I’ve ever given advice that the President could order someone buried alive. . .
Conyers: I didn’t ask you if you ever gave him advice. I asked you thought the President could order a suspect buried alive.
Yoo: Well Chairman, my view right now is that I don’t think a President . . . no American President would ever have to order that or feel it necessary to order that.
Conyers: I think we understand the games that are being played.
Conyers was making a point that those who were testifying were playing games with Congress: Playing games with honesty. Playing games with torture. Playing games with burying people alive. Even beyond avoiding direct questions from a Congressional Chairperson, John Woo’s answer on the president’s ability to bury people alive is beyond the pale, and beyond shameful.
The Bush administration’s detrimental effect on the morality of our society manifests itself once again.
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What you get with a Republican presidency
Image:http://archive.salon.com/books/feature/2001/03/07/buriedalive/story.jpg
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