ACLU Says New Bush Executive Order on CIA Torture Is "Only as Good as the People Applying It"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: media@dcaclu.org

WASHINGTON – The American Civil Liberties Union today responded to the new Bush Administration executive order on CIA interrogation techniques.

The following can be attributed to Christopher Anders, Senior Legislative Counsel of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office:

“The order takes some steps in the right direction, particularly where it explicitly bans CIA practices such as induced hypothermia and prohibits specific acts of humiliation. It also includes broader bans on torture and cruel and inhuman treatment, as defined in the War Crimes Act. But of course, the Executive Order is only as good as the people applying it. If any of the recent past presidents, Republican or Democrat, were applying this order, we wouldn’t have any doubt that it means an end to torture and abuse by the CIA. However, with President Bush’s record of playing word games with anti-torture laws, we do not have the same confidence that the torture and abuse has stopped and will not start up again.”