Pentagon report claims that USA "not bound by laws banning the use of torture"

[mrph]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3783869.stm

According to the BBC, who are getting this via the Wall Street Journal: "The document also argued that torturers acting under presidential orders could not be prosecuted"

Fuck that. We've heard that excuse before, and 'just following orders' didn't cut any ice that time, either.

Comments

[butterflyrobert.livejournal.com]

But the USA isn't Nazi Germany. Its Rome. Now which dastardly Roman Emperor does Dubya most resemble?

[mrph.livejournal.com]

Hmm. Tough question. Do we have any reports of him having sex with horses? Or appointing them to high office? Any sign of musical talent or pyromania? A little too... close... to his mother.

Actually, compared to most of that lot, he doesn't seem quite so bad. And yes, that's damning with faint praise.

[Although I still think that in some ways he's better than Blair. There's a little less weasel in his methods, for a start...]

[countess-sophia.livejournal.com]

Honorius (395-423) an idiot elevated to the purple because of who his dad was (Theodosius the Great), who spent his reign dominated by scheming, murderous and incompetent advisors. He was more interested in piety and luxury than doing his job: the Roman Empire in the West started to fall apart on his watch.

Honorius is most famous for two things. The first is that when he was told that Rome was destroyed (sacked by the goths) he was was very upset, thinking that his favourite pet chicken 'Rome' had died. When he heard it was only his capital put to the sword - he was living it up in Ravenna at the time - he cheered up immensely. The other thing is murdering his only competent general for reasons of petty jealousy at a time when said general was the only thing keeping the barbarians at bay.