Cheney has admitted he knew about the torture program. He admitted he approved of torture. He doesn't deny he authorized it.
That means he and anyone else involved in the program are responsible for the consequences, especially when they include killing people. Like this guy. Manadel al-Jamadi (مناضل الجمادي).
Jamadi was killed while in US custody at Abu Gharib on November 2003. Actually, that is not accurate. He wasn't killed. He was tortured to death. There's a difference. You kill a guy in custody maybe you got an excuse. You torture a guy to death, that's a whole different story...
Now I know the apologists for torture will harrumph and say:
But Vice President Richard Cheney had nothing to do with that. We all know it was Mark Swanner and Col. Thomas Pappas who were involved with that interrogation. Hell, Pappas testified against his subordinate, Lt. Col. Steven Jordan. Case closed.
That argument doesn't hold water. You see, if you commit a crime and people die, the courts aren't likely to be lenient. If you are even involved in a crime where people died, expect to pay a heavier penalty. Let me give you an example of how this works.
Let's say I come up with a plan to rob a bank. It's a great plan. You guys will go in with some seriously scary guns, but you won't have to shoot anyone. Trust me, you pull out a bunch of MAC-10 assault weapons and no one is going to be a damn hero. In fact, we won't even put bullets in the guns. That way, no one can accidentally shoot up the place or cut a few people in half.
Ok.... let's say we go ahead with the crime. Except something goes wrong. Ma and Pa Kettle happen to be in the bank that day. Pa, having seen action in Vietnam, knows what MAC-10s are capable of doing, so he gallantly stands in front of Ma. Ma, unable to see what is going on is terrified her dang fool husband is gonna get himself shot. In fact, she's so terrified she strokes out right there in the bank. She falls to the floor and cracks her skull on the marble floor.... blood is everywhere. She's convulsing and choking. People are screaming. It's a madhouse. Ma Kettle dies amid the confusion.
We decide this is more than we bargained for so we head for the exits. When the cops catch us, we surrender without a fight. When they haul us into court and charge us it's not just for attempted robbery. No, since Ma Kettle died we get hit with Felony Murder.
Nobody cares the guns weren't loaded. Nobody cares that we never even saw Ma Kettle. All they care is someone died during the commission of a felony. In fact, if you were sitting in the car waiting for the rest of us to come rushing out of the bank... you too can be charged with felony murder in this case. Why? Because any participant in that felony is criminally liable for any deaths that occur during or in furtherance of that felony.
If you planned it, authorized it, approved it, and enabled it... that would make you a participant. In this particular case Col. Tom Pappas may have been able to negotiate an immunity deal in order to finger his subordinate. But that was in the military court system. Turns out, the Germans are considering a related case here and they aren't going to stop with Pappas.
Brig. Gen. Janis Karpinski, the one-time commander of all U.S. military prisons in Iraq, has already provided a written statement on behalf of the plaintiffs declaring:
It was clear the knowledge and responsibility [for what happened at Abu Ghraib] goes all the way to the top of the chain of command to the Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld.
So, Pappas says he was just following orders. General Karpinski says she was following orders that go up to the Secretary of Defense. Former Vice President Cheney says he approved of the use of torture before it was actually implemented. He also says the president knew about this and approved it as well.
No one disputes torture occurred. No one disputes it was planned, approved, and directed by Rumsfeld, Cheney, Rice and Bush... with help from lawyers like Addington and Yoo. No one disputes people were tortured to death. No one (who is sane) disputes torture is a crime.
I think we are all finally on the same page here. The only question now is ... what will Cheney, Rumsfeld, Rice, Bush and others be charged with?