Scott Horton Interviews Scott Horton
June 21st, 2008The Other Scott Horton, heroic international human rights lawyer, journalist for Harper’s magazine and steadfast opponent of torture, discusses his new article for The New Republic, “Travel Advisory,” the Supreme Court’s reversal of the War Party’s end-run around habeas corpus, how Bush continually ignores Supreme Court decisions, the many war crimes committed by the Bush administration principals and their lawyers, how prosecution might proceed in foreign states, how “the war council” plotted the whole torture regime, the many people who have been killed under U.S. custody, the charade of the military tribunal system, how our policy of torture is the terrorists best recruiting tool and the danger of a total police state.
MP3 here. (44:18)
The Other Scott Horton is a contributing editor at Harper’s magazine and pens the blog No Comment. A New York attorney known for his work in emerging markets and international law, especially human rights law and the law of armed conflict, Horton lectures at Columbia Law School. A life-long human rights advocate, Scott served as counsel to Andrei Sakharov and Elena Bonner, among other activists in the former Soviet Union. He is a co-founder of the American University in Central Asia, and has been involved in some of the most significant foreign investment projects in the Central Eurasian region. Scott recently led a number of studies of abuse issues associated with the conduct of the war on terror for the New York City Bar Association, where he has chaired several committees, including, most recently, the Committee on International Law. He is also a member of the board of the National Institute of Military Justice, the Andrei Sakharov Foundation, the EurasiaGroup and the American Branch of the International Law Association.
June 21st, 2008 at 9:23 am
Maybe now we should all and forever stop using the phrase “…hold their feet to the fire…”
June 23rd, 2008 at 5:47 am
How come Khaddafi can go to Europe whenever he wants w/o facing any charges for supporting terror?
How come Ahmed Jabril could get medical treatment w/o facing any charges for supporting terror?
June 23rd, 2008 at 6:31 am
How come George Bush and Dick Cheney go to Europe whenever they wants w/o facing any charges for supporting terror? They have the power and Khaddafi is now “Ally in the War On Terror”.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
These vermin torture so they can gain false confessions from selected fall-guys. Period. It is well known among intelligence analysts that this is the only thing torture is good for — that’s why legitimate interrogators don’t use torture. The bush/cheney regime….well that’s a different animal, they are NOT legitmate interrogators — partly because they use torture and partly because they know there are actually very few terrorists to be concerned about besides themselves. Knowing they themselves did 911, there is no reason to look for other bombers, but there is a reason to kidnap and torture patsies: keep the fear high and their war of terror going for profit, for empire, and probably to fulfill their twisted fantasies.
June 23rd, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Great interview Scott. Hey, next time you get a legal expert on, could you ask them about the possibility of Bush pardoning himself? I think a lot of people have questions about how that would work.