The top Bush administration official overseeing prosecutions at Guantanamo Bay has concluded the US military tortured a Saudi national accused in the 9/11 attacks. Speaking to the Washington Post, the acting head of military commissions, Susan Crawford, says the suspect, Mohammed al-Qahtani, was subjected to isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and “life-threatening” prolonged exposure to cold. Crawford says the methods were authorized but amounted to torture in their application. She said, “This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive.” Qahtani’s interrogation plan was approved by former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Crawford says she won’t authorize a military prosecutor’s request to refile charges against Qahtani.

This is certinaly not news to many of you.  War crimes should be started.