In an international spat between Washington and Moscow this Russian response to U.S. measures will be widely applauded:
Russia on Saturday named 18 Americans banned from entering the country in response to Washington imposing sanctions on 18 Russians for alleged human rights violations.The list released by the Foreign Ministry includes John Yoo, a former U.S. Justice Department official who wrote legal memos authorizing harsh interrogation techniques; David Addington, the chief of staff for former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney; and two former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention center: retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller and Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson.
The move came a day after the United States announced its sanctions under the Magnitsky Law, named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates. He died in prison the next year, allegedly after being beaten and denied medical treatment.
I can think of a lot more names Russia and others should put on such lists. How about McChrystal and Petraeus for running the torture campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan? How about any Senator who voted for the Iraq war? How about those editors and journalists that cheered for those wars?
Score!
I’d add Obama, bringer of death by drone, without benefit of trial or even accusation.
And, of course, George W. Bush.
But maybe Putin is keeping his powder dry. And there surely are lots more war criminals to be named in these United States.
Oh, my, there will be hissy fits on Capitol Hill, fer sure. And in the White House.
Moon of Alabama is awesome. I don’t understand it all but I think they’re awesome.
I love this. So funny. NPR wouldn’t even mention their names, just called them “high ranking officials with ties to enhanced interrogation”. SO funny.