The following charts, and related explanations were originally published by the ACLU, August 2009. Click here to view the originals
Accountability for torture
Although much has been revealed about the Bush administration's torture program, those in the upper echelons of the administration who conceived of, crafted, and approved the program have almost entirely escaped accountability. The graphic below diagrams the participation of these high-level officials in the torture program based upon publicly available documents.
The abuses committed as a result of the torture program are serious, and the publicly available evidence of senior involvement is considerable and still mounting. It is important to remember, however, that the full story has yet to be told. The government continues to suppress countless, important documents revealing even more about the genesis of the torture program. Uncovering the full extent of the program is paramount now as we, as a nation, move beyond the troubling past and reformulate interrogation policies for a more hopeful future.
The Bush Administration
Office of the President
President George Bush
Office of the Vice President
Vice President Dick Cheney
David Addington
Department of Justice
Attorney General John Ashcroft
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
Office of Legal Counsel
John Yoo
Jay Bybee
Central Intelligence Agency
George Tenet
John Rizzo
Department of Defense
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
William "Jim" Haynes III
National Security Adviser
Condoleeza Rice