Now that the ACLU and Human Rights First have filed suit against Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, do you think maybe the Bush Administration cease its game of deny-yet-never-disavow?

The ACLU filed similar complaints against three other senior officers: Col. Thomas Pappas, Gen. Janis Karpinski and Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez on behalf of prisoners mistreated at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison.

The suit against Rumsfeld focuses on an order he signed on Dec. 2, 2002 which authorized new interrogation techniques for detainees in the "war on terror" being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The techniques included "stress positions," hooding, 20-hour interrogations, removal of clothing, exploiting phobias to induce stress, prolonged isolation and sensory deprivation.

Later, when evidence became overwhelming that prisoners were being tortured, Rumsfeld turned a blind eye and allowed the mistreatment to proceed, the suit alleges.

It will take a lot of noise to get any sort of response. The ACLU has an action page calling for a special prosecutor to look into the use of torture by the government.

Secretary Rumsfeld and other high-ranking military and civilian officials failed to stop the torture and degrading treatment of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo even after credible reports of abuses began to emerge in the media and in military documents. And the White House and Department of Justice schemed to remove safeguards against torture.

The American people deserve to know the truth about what torture tactics have been employed in the past and what tactics will be used in the future. This can only be accomplished by the appointment of an outside special counsel for torture and abuse investigations and prosecutions of civilians.

An array of already-released documents clearly show that top government officials considered and eventually ordered the removal of protections against many abusive detention and interrogation practices. It is clear that Secretary Rumsfeld personally authorized the military to abandon our nation’s historic prohibition against torture or cruel and degrading treatment -- and limited investigations in a way that blocked high-ranking civilian or military officials, including himself, from being held accountable.

At the same time, the Department of Justice and White House were scheming ways to protect torturers and their enablers from prosecution.

Take action! Urge Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint an outside special counsel to investigate any criminal conduct by civilians in ordering, or paving the way for, torture or abuse of prisoners.

Contact Attorney General Alberto Gonzales here.

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