I have expressed the opinion that the illegal tendencies of the Bush administration to go beyond the law in his reactionary, emotional efforts to please the American people might well be addressed in congress soon, as Democrats take control in January.
I might mention that of all the itemized transgressions, I found myself agreeing to some extent with Bush's thinking on the wiretap issue, and thinking that perhaps his "heart was in the right place" although he should have had some discussion with members of congress.
However the policy of holding detainees, suspected terrorists, for extended periods, and of using torture to extract information, or to "pass the time' is clearly wrong.

Rumsfeld

Former Secretary Of Defensive, Donald Rumsfeld, may soon be called to task for allowing such attrocities on his watch.

This is Zacharias Mussaoui

Rumsfeld to Request Dismissal of Torture Lawsuit
Friday, December 08, 2006
WASHINGTON — Outgoing Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is asking a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that would hold him personally responsible for allegations of torture in overseas military prisons.
The lawsuit, filed by two civil rights groups, describes the imprisonment of nine foreigners detained in Iraq and Afghanistan. The lawsuit contends the men were beaten, suspended upside down from the ceiling by chains, urinated on, shocked, sexually humiliated, burned, locked inside boxes and subjected to mock executions.
President George W. Bush has called the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq the biggest mistake of the war.
Attorneys for the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights First say Rumsfeld and top military officials authorized such abuses and should be held liable in federal court.
The Justice Department argues that Rumsfeld cannot be sued. Government officials are generally immune from lawsuits related to their jobs unless they violate a constitutional right.

Consider this, from The Chicago Sun Times:

Chicago Sun Times, April 16, 2006:
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld "was personally involved in the late 2002 interrogation of an high value Al-Qaida detainee..the 20th hijacker..
"He communicated weekly with the man in charge of the investigation, Major General Geoffrey Miller, commander of the Guantanamo Bay Detention center, an Army inspector generals report shows."
In the same period detainee Mu hammed Al-Kahtan was forced to stand naked in front of a female interrogator, forced to wear women's underwear, and perform "dog tricks' on a leash, for 18 to 20 hours/day, for 48 of 54 days.

The world may view the use of torture differently than we (speaking for myself) in America do. Consider this interesting survey:

One-third support 'some torture'
Nearly a third of people worldwide back the use of torture in prisons in some circumstances, a BBC survey suggests.
Although 59% were opposed to torture, 29% thought it acceptable to use some degree of torture to combat terrorism.
While most polled in the US are against torture, opposition there is less robust than in Europe and elsewhere.
More than 27,000 people in 25 countries were asked if torture would be acceptable if it could provide information to save innocent lives.
Some 36% of those questioned in the US agreed that this use of torture was acceptable, while 58% were unwilling to compromise on human rights.
The percentage favouring torture in certain cases makes it one of the highest of all the countries polled.
The majority of those questioned in the BBC World Service poll - 19 of the 25 countries surveyed - agree that clear rules against torture in prisons should be maintained because it is immoral and its use would weaken human rights standards.
"The dominant view around the world is that terrorism does not warrant bending the rules against torture," said Steven Kull, director of the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA), whose organisation helped conduct the survey.
Saving lives?
All of the countries surveyed have signed up to the Geneva Conventions which prohibit the use of torture and cruel and degrading behaviour.
But countries that face political violence are more likely to accept the idea that some degree of torture is permissible because of the extreme threat posed by terrorists.
Israel has the largest percentage of those polled endorsing the use of a degree of torture on prisoners, with 43% saying they agreed that some degree of torture should be allowed.
However, a larger percentage - 48% - think it should remain prohibited.
Other countries that polled higher levels of acceptance of the use of torture include Iraq (42%), the Philippines (40%), Indonesia (40%), Russia (37%) and China (37%).
The Israeli figure conceals a stark difference in attitude within the country, split along religious lines.
A majority of Jewish respondents in Israel, 53%, favour allowing governments to use some degree of torture to obtain information from those in custody, while 39% want clear rules against it.
But Muslims in Israel, who represent 16% of the total number polled, are overwhelmingly against any use of torture.
Meanwhile opposition to the practise is highest in Italy, where 81% of those questioned think torture is never justified.
Australia, France, Canada, the UK and Germany also registered high levels of opposition to any use of torture.
The survey was carried out for the BBC World Service by polling firm Globescan and the Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA).