With the exception of George W. Bush, no other official was more responsible in the last US administration for sanctioning, through the use of dubious and undisclosed legal opinions, kidnapping, coerced confessions, extrajudicial detention, torture and other systematic violations of civil liberties and human rights. All these were done in the name of US national security and the war on terror, in violation of long-standing laws, traditions and principles that have defined the US since its founding.