2003 Torture Memo Released

The NYT and WaPo report today on the public release of a 2003 Department of Justice memo giving military interrogators authority to torture (erm . . . " engage in harsh interrogation". . . ). Written by Office of Legal Counsel official John C. Yoo, the document was finally released after a Freedom of Information Act request from the ACLU. Of course, it provides an extremely narrow definition of what constitutes legal torture. Money quote from the NYT:

“The victim must experience intense pain or suffering of the kind that is equivalent to the pain that would be associated with serious physical injury so severe that death, organ failure or permanent damage resulting in a loss of significant body functions will likely result,” Mr. Yoo wrote.

Georgetown Prof Marty Lederman provides some additional solid analysis over at his blog. Key point: This is in many ways a new frontier for the imperial, unchecked executive power under President Bush.