SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Rove's admission comes as a growing number of rights groups and others are calling on President Obama and lawmakers to prosecute those responsible for the abuses. (Screenshot: Fox News)
Bush 'Intimately Involved' with CIA Torture, says Rove
Dec 14, 2014
Former President George W. Bush knew and was "intimately involved" in the CIA's practice of torture, former Bush adviser and Republican strategist Karl Rove confirmed on Fox News Sunday.
Despite arguments made in the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's report that the CIA had not alerted Bush and other top officials about the extent of the abuses until 2006, Rove told the morning show: "He made the decision."
"He was presented, I believe, 12 techniques, he authorized the use of 10 of them, including waterboarding," Rove added.
The Senate report, released on Tuesday, documented such abuses as "rectal rehydration" and "water dousing," as well as threatening to kill or sexually abuse family members of detainees--acts which the committee said were beyond the scope of what was portrayed by the CIA to congressional overseers and the Bush administration.
Rove argues that this alleged inaccuracy indicates that the report authors had insufficiently consulted Bush administration officials when researching the torture program.
Citing the former president's recent book Decision Points, Rove confirmed that Bush was fully briefed on all of the CIA's tactics in 2002, early on in the torture program. "He was briefed and intimately involved in the decision," said Rove.
The Republican insider's admission comes as a growing number of rights groups and others are calling on President Obama and lawmakers to prosecute those responsible for the abuses.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Former President George W. Bush knew and was "intimately involved" in the CIA's practice of torture, former Bush adviser and Republican strategist Karl Rove confirmed on Fox News Sunday.
Despite arguments made in the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's report that the CIA had not alerted Bush and other top officials about the extent of the abuses until 2006, Rove told the morning show: "He made the decision."
"He was presented, I believe, 12 techniques, he authorized the use of 10 of them, including waterboarding," Rove added.
The Senate report, released on Tuesday, documented such abuses as "rectal rehydration" and "water dousing," as well as threatening to kill or sexually abuse family members of detainees--acts which the committee said were beyond the scope of what was portrayed by the CIA to congressional overseers and the Bush administration.
Rove argues that this alleged inaccuracy indicates that the report authors had insufficiently consulted Bush administration officials when researching the torture program.
Citing the former president's recent book Decision Points, Rove confirmed that Bush was fully briefed on all of the CIA's tactics in 2002, early on in the torture program. "He was briefed and intimately involved in the decision," said Rove.
The Republican insider's admission comes as a growing number of rights groups and others are calling on President Obama and lawmakers to prosecute those responsible for the abuses.
Lauren McCauley
Lauren McCauley is a former senior editor for Common Dreams covering national and international politics and progressive news. She is now the Editor of Maine Morning Star. Lauren also helped produce a number of documentary films, including the award-winning Soundtrack for a Revolution and The Hollywood Complex, as well as one currently in production about civil rights icon James Meredith. Her writing has been featured on Newsweek, BillMoyers.com, TruthDig, Truthout, In These Times, and Extra! the newsletter of Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting. She currently lives in Kennebunk, Maine with her husband, two children, a dog, and several chickens.
Former President George W. Bush knew and was "intimately involved" in the CIA's practice of torture, former Bush adviser and Republican strategist Karl Rove confirmed on Fox News Sunday.
Despite arguments made in the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee's report that the CIA had not alerted Bush and other top officials about the extent of the abuses until 2006, Rove told the morning show: "He made the decision."
"He was presented, I believe, 12 techniques, he authorized the use of 10 of them, including waterboarding," Rove added.
The Senate report, released on Tuesday, documented such abuses as "rectal rehydration" and "water dousing," as well as threatening to kill or sexually abuse family members of detainees--acts which the committee said were beyond the scope of what was portrayed by the CIA to congressional overseers and the Bush administration.
Rove argues that this alleged inaccuracy indicates that the report authors had insufficiently consulted Bush administration officials when researching the torture program.
Citing the former president's recent book Decision Points, Rove confirmed that Bush was fully briefed on all of the CIA's tactics in 2002, early on in the torture program. "He was briefed and intimately involved in the decision," said Rove.
The Republican insider's admission comes as a growing number of rights groups and others are calling on President Obama and lawmakers to prosecute those responsible for the abuses.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.