“The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a “life-threatening condition.”

“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution. ”

Woodward: Washington Post

Even her conclusions are odd, however.

“The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. 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. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge” to call it torture, she said. ”

It’s good she sees the cumulative impact and calls it for what it is. It is passing strange that she would characterize ” forced to wear a woman’s bra and had a thong placed on his head during the course of his interrogation” and “was told that his mother and sister were whores,” or, “With a leash tied to his chains, he was led around the room “and forced to perform a series of dog tricks,” “authorized.” By whom, on what grounds, and where is the indictment?

This is not to say Qhatani was an innocent, like many of those held in Guantanamo. His rap sheet is strong and persuasive. He was to be the 20th hi-jacker for September 11 and landed in Orlando to be picked up by Mohammed Atta to finish training and preparation. The enormous bungling of the case, including torture, by Cheney and his dogs, means that the case can never properly brought to trial, evidence revealed, punishment legally applied. Instead of showcasing why American democracy and the rule of law are beacons of freedom they have been treated as disposable instruments of power by those who expect never to be called to account.

It’s unimaginable that the incoming administration would seriously consider doing nothing to reveal and rectify these transgressions. Just as the torture and illegality will be known down through history, regardless of what the Obama administration does, so too will its action or inaction be known. Do the right thing, Mr. President. The moral hazard has been played. Make it not a winning hand.