“The Bush administration applied relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s regime, according to a former senior U.S. intelligence official and a former Army psychiatrist.

Such information would’ve provided a foundation for one of former President George W. Bush’s main arguments for invading Iraq in 2003. In fact, no evidence has ever been found of operational ties between Osama bin Laden’s terrorist network and Saddam’s regime.

The use of abusive interrogation – widely considered torture – as part of Bush’s quest for a rationale to invade Iraq came to light as the Senate issued a major report tracing the origin of the abuses and President Barack Obama opened the door to prosecuting former U.S. officials for approving them.” — [ READ MORE ]

The Bush administration claims that it subjected suspected terrorists to “enhanced interrogation techniques” (torture) to uncover terrorist plots and to save American lives. The truth is far less noble, suspected Jihadists were brutalized in the hopes they might be coerced into saying that there was an alliance between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda. It’s a well documented facts that victims of torture will often say what they think their tormentors want to hear.

Bush’s often repeated mantra was that the invasion of Iraq was synonymous with the war on terror. This is a bald-faced lie, Saddam had no use for al-Qaeda and he would never have allowed a militant group and a possible adversary to set up shop in Iraq.

Bush’s systematic torture of detainees wasn’t a search for truth, justice and a validation of the America way. It was a cynical and sadistic enterprise, and a repudiation of everything that our democracy stands for.

George W. Bush has left the building, but the stench of sulfur remains. The only way to clear the air is by holding Cheney, Rumsfeld and Bush responsible for their crimes against humanity. We simply can’t allow this Axis of Evil to get way with their crimes, and enjoy their retirement playing golf and giving speeches for hundreds of thousands at a pop.

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