It had been widely assumed that the decision to torture enemy combatants and other detainees in the so-called War on Terror began with military commanders and interrogators at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The Bush administration has taken refuge behind this “trickle up” explanation, but as is now apparent, the origins of this dark chapter in American history — and the single most defining aspect of the Age of Bush — can be traced to the very highest levels of government.
That is the conclusion of “The Green Light,” a scrupulously researched and horrifying article in the current Vanity Fair magazine by Phillippe Sands, who follows the torture trail and asks whether war crimes were committed.
Please click here to read excerpts at Kiko’s House and here for an index and links to my previous torture-related articles.