Bush Administration War on Terror Memos

Bush Administration war on terror memos were written by legal advisors after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. ProPublica created in January 2009 an online data base containing the publicly released memos and information on others not yet released.

On January 28, 2009 ProPublica reported, "The Bush administration’s "war on terror" - including its controversial policies on detentions, interrogations and warrantless wiretapping - were all underpinned by legal memoranda. While some of those memos have been released (primarily as a result of ACLU lawsuits), the former administration chose to keep many others secret, citing security and confidentiality concerns. The decision to release them now lies with President Barack Obama. To help inform the debate—and inject an extra dose of accountability—we’re posting a list of the relevant memos, both public and secret. (The ACLU first compiled a list of still-secret memoranda, which ProPublica verified.)"

Memo authors include John C. Yoo, Steven G. Bradbury, Jay Bybee, James B. Comey, Robert J. Delahunty, Jack Goldsmith, James Ho, Daniel Levin, Patrick Philbin and and other legal architects (and some critics) of the Bush Administration's use of torture and detention policies now being reversed by the Obama Administration.

SourceWatch Resources

 * Bush administration and torture
 * Global War on Terror
 * John C. Yoo
 * ProPublica
 * War on Terrorism