Rumsfeld Gave Explicit Direct Approval for Torture

Newly-released documents on U.S. policy of torturing prisoners show that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized guards to strip detainees and threaten them with dogs. President Bush claimed the right to waive anti-torture laws and treaties covering prisoners of war after the invasion of Afghanistan, and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorized guards to strip detainees and threaten them with dogs, according to documents released Tuesday. [more]

• At a press briefing last week, Defense Secretary Rumsfeld criticized newspaper editorials for implying "that the United States government has, in one way or another, ordered, authorized, permitted, tolerated torture."  [more]