You Call It Torture, We Call It Top Secret

Remember the old song Let's Call The Whole Thing Off?

You say EE-ther and I say EYE-ther,
You say NEE-ther and I say EYE-ther
Either, either
Neither, neither
Let's call the whole thing off.

You like po-TAY-to and I like poTAH-to
You like to-MAY-to and I like toMAH-to
Potato, potahto,
Tomato, tomahto.
Let's call the whole thing off

Prof. Marty Lederman remembers it:

You Call It "Torture"; We Call It "Coming Into Possession of Classified Information"

Why can't Majid Khan have a lawyer, according to the Department of Justice? Because he might tell the lawyer how he was treated by the U.S. government. Think about that for a second.

The theory of the government's case here is contained in the remarkable tenth paragraph of the Declaration of Marilyn Dorn, CIA Information Review Officer. Dorn writes:

Information relating to the CIA terrorist detention program has been placed in a TOP Secret/SCI program to enhance protection from unauthorized disclosure. Because Majid Khan was detained by the CIA in this program, he may have come into possession of information, including locations of detention, conditions of detention, and alternative interrogation techniques, that is classified at the TOP SECRET/SCI level.

Joe Marguiles, quoted in the Post article, is right: This goes beyond Orwell into Lewis Carroll territory, topping the formidable list of jaw-dropping Bush Administration euphemisms.

Read more.