WASHINGTON -- Liberals vow to challenge the nomination of White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales as U.S. attorney general, the Washington Times reported Friday. A coalition of liberal groups, led by People for the American Way, is targeting Gonzales' role in policies governing the treatment of detainees in Iraq and in the war on terrorism.
People for the American Way and other groups are expected to pressure members of the Senate Judiciary Committee to ask Gonzales about policies that led to abusive treatment of prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Baghdad, as well as the handling of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
"Few images have done more to scar our nation's image at home and abroad than the terrible pictures of prisoners being abused in Iraq," People For the American Way President Ralph Neas said. "There are many questions that must still be answered regarding the rights and treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere."
Several committee members from both parties have expressed support for Gonzales, and he is expected to be confirmed.
