John Yoo Says President Bush Can Legally Torture Children

Cassel: If the president deems that he's got to torture somebody, including by crushing the testicles of the person's child, there is no law that can stop him?

Yoo: No treaty

Cassel: Also no law by Congress -- that is what you wrote in the August 2002 memo...

Yoo: I think it depends on why the President thinks he needs to do that.

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  News & Politics

[shoeboxtube]

Um... talk about misleading headline. Yoo doesn't say the president can do that carte blanche. It depends on whether he has appropriate justification as commander in chief... which would depend on the situation (in war... necessary.... etc.). And given we only have a snippet, I don't know if he elaborates on the context. Can you guys not read or understand English?

[robrobbins]

Mein Englisch ist nicht so gut.

[stperkin]

What this adviser to this Bush administration is saying is; "Yeah, it depends on what the President wants. In some situations it might be okay to "crush a child's testicles". Is it not obvious this is (was) a criminal administration?!

[kennywn]

Anyone involved in the torture of children...well that just makes me sick to my stomach and outraged. These sickos deserve nothing short of the death penalty for committing treason.

[Luke Sanchez]

Funny how john yoo says it is okay for obama to drone bomb targeted killing of us civilians. Your thoughts?

[MixMastaDJ100]

I think there's an implicit 'brown' in there... i.e. "John Yoo Says President Bush Can Legally Torture /Brown/ Children"

[bint alshamsa]

Why would you expect a sociopath to be rattled by anything someone else says or feels? In order to be the kind of person who finds torture justifiable you've already past the point where you care about logic or emotion. At that point, it's all about their self-interests and looking to see them exhibit some sign of a conscience is pointless. It was quite revealing to hear him justify the sexual assault of children in this video.

[bint alshamsa]

I doubt they'd have any problem with Yoo's claim. They had no problem seeing torture as perfectly okay, as long as it was perpetrated against people who weren't white, rich, hetero men.

[bint alshamsa]

It's not misleading. You're the one using the term "carte blanche". The headline states the truth. Yoo thinks the President can torture children if he sees it as necessary. If you don't understand the context, there's something called google that can help you with that. Can you not understand how google works?

[Bernardo Reyes]

"Well, I could possibly imagine a scenario where crushing the testicles of an innocent boy would be legal" ~ Says no reasonable person ever

[bearsagainstevil]

I wonder what thomas jefferson, george washington etc, would think of this answer

[Tim Fuller]

The question of torturing toddlers testicles did not come out of the clear blue. Enjoy.

[ken1334]

SO where do I sign up to crush childrens testicles again? Wait, are you saying I was mislead? Appears so...

[1976donzi]

Fuck Johnny boy Yoo, waterboard him and get him to STFU