Condoleezza Rice defends torture, confirms Bushs role in the program in new video clipMadison Ruppert The fact that Bush authorized waterboarding is not just now being revealed. Indeed, it has been known since he published his memoir. However, as the ACLU points out, What comes as a bit of a shock, perhaps, is how candid Rice is about the role of President Bush himself in authorizing torture. Now Rice has confirmed that President Bush himself was involved in vetting the CIAs request for approval to torture, Alexander Abdo, staff attorney for the ACLUs National Security Project writes. The president asked two very important questions in the decision to use these techniques, Rice says. He asked the CIA if it was necessary and he asked the Justice Department if it was legal. Both departments answered yes. Only when he was satisfied that we could protect both our liberties and our security did he signal that we could go ahead, former Secretary of State Rice says in the clip. The fact that we have not had a successful attack on our territory traces directly to those difficult decisions, Rice says in the brief portion of the five-minute video presentation. We couldnt disagree more, Abdo wrote. This is far from baseless opinion. In a 2004 special review, the CIAs Office of the Inspector General itself concluded that [t]he effectiveness of particular interrogation techniques in eliciting information that might not otherwise have been obtained cannot be so easily measured. In other words, even the inspector general of the CIA itself wouldnt come out and say that the enhanced interrogation techniques actually worked. Furthermore, a study published in March of last year revealed that torture is not only unexpectedly harsh but is also ineffective. The researcher found that in order for torture to generate even the smallest amount of actionable intelligence the state must make the supposedly rational calculation to actually torture innocent detainees for telling the truth in order to maintain torture as a threat against those who withhold information. Abdo argues that beyond the fact that torture itself is not nearly as effective as apologists like Rice and others claim, it has also actually harmed our national security. Torture served as a recruiting tool for our enemies, and experienced American interrogators dissented from the use of torture, arguing that it didnt work and would produce false statements that would waste time, even if it occasionally produced truthful ones, Abdo said. The level of denial among torture supporters is astounding in the face of all of the evidence confirming that U.S. policy was in fact torture, including this months comprehensive bipartisan report from The Constitution Project, Abdo added. Yet we still know very little about the torture program and the Senate Intelligence Committees 6,000-page report remains hidden from public eyes. As such, the ACLU urges Americans to contact members of the Senate Intelligence Committee and tell them to release the 6,000-page factual report to the public. Id love to hear your opinion, take a look at your story tips and even your original writing if you would like to get it published. Please email me at Admin@EndtheLie.com Please support our work and help us start to pay contributors by doing your shopping through our Amazon link or check out some must-have products at our store. This article first appeared at End the Lie. Madison Ruppert is the Editor and Owner-Operator of the alternative news and analysis databaseEnd The Lie and has no affiliation with any NGO, political party, economic school, or other organization/cause. He is available for podcast and radio interviews. Madison also now has his own radio show on UCYTV Monday nights 7 PM 9 PM PT/10 PM 12 AM ET. Show page link here: http://UCY.TV/EndtheLie. If you have questions, comments, or corrections feel free to contact him at admin@EndtheLie.com 