As promised, the Obama administration released a set of torture memos, including one written by UC Berkeley law professor John Yoo. The Yoo memo is a disturbing account of a dark time in this nation’s history, and gives a stark look at how Yoo specifically authorized torture, in violation of federal and international laws (the August 2002 memo was signed by Yoo’s boss in the Bush Department of Justice Jay Bybee, who is now a federal appellate judge, but was written by Yoo). Among the lowlights: Not only did Yoo authorize waterboarding, even though it has long been considered torture and the US prosecuted its own soldiers in Vietnam for using it, but the Berkeley professor told the CIA that they could deprive al Qaeda suspect Abu Zubaydah of sleep for up to eleven days. And this wasn’t just some lawyer giving a client bad advice. The CIA had refused to torture Zubaydah unless Yoo gave them the okay. But remember, Yoo’s job at Berkeley is protected by academic freedom.
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