The American Civil Liberties Union has called for creation of an independent special counsel to investigate "torture policies" following the Senate's confirmation Feb. 15 of Michael Chertoff as Homeland Security Secretary. (ACLU, Feb. 15) Chertoff headed the Justice Department's criminal division during the post-9-11 sweeps, in which many detainees were physically abused—as documented in a 2003 report by the DoJ's own Inspector General. See WW4 REPORT #89

The ACLU's call for a special counsel is unlikely to get far, as the move would have to be approved by newly-appointed Attorney General Alberto Gonzales—himself an architect of the administration's torture policies in Iraq and Afghanistan as a White House legal counsel. (Amnesty International, Dec. 2)

As they say on the subway, "Watch the closing doors."

See our last post on the torture scandal.