Originally published on the CGS blog on November 6, 2007.
Years from now, hopefully not too far off in the future, historians will note the heroism displayed by Daniel Levin.
Who is Daniel Levin? He used to be the Acting Assistant Attorney General, who according to ABC News was:
A senior Justice Department official, charged with reworking the administration’s legal position on torture in 2004 became so concerned about the controversial interrogation technique of waterboarding that he decided to experience it firsthand, sources told ABC News.
Daniel Levin, then acting assistant attorney general, went to a military base near Washington and underwent the procedure to inform his analysis of different interrogation techniques.
After the experience, Levin told White House officials that even though he knew he wouldn’t die, he found the experience terrifying and thought that it clearly simulated drowning.
Not surprisingly, Levin was overruled by the Bush White House and eventually let go when Alberto Gonzalez became Bush’s Attorney General. As Raj noted below with the amazing commentary by Keith Olbermann on MSNBC’s ‘Countdown’ last night, Levin deserved better and so do we.
To read Levin’s memo from 2004, click here.
To view ABC’s report, and why the Bush administration let Levin go, check out this.
