I endorse every word of this piece. Every word!
And if you can watch this clip and not conclude that the Obama administration needs to immediately open an investigation into the Bush administration's torture program then . . . well . . . I don't want to know you.
Joe. H
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The Years Of Writing Dangerously
9 years ago
6 comments:
Joe -
What do you think the likelihood is that Obama reversed his decision to release the photos out of FEAR of retaliation from the CIA?
Have you seen this possibility raised yet?
I don't know how to calculate that risk. It certainly seems possible.
I will say that Obama is almost certainly mistaken in his belief that he can ignore this story, or other stroies related to Bush administration corrpution, and get everyone to "move forward." Frank Rich is exactly correct when he wrote that the steady "drip drip" of information is not going to stop and the more information becomes public, the more demand there will be for an investigation. I am definitely looking forward to the "every man for himself" stage - That's when we're really going to see the extent and debth of the corruption. It will be horrifying.
Here's the link to Rich's op-ed from yesterday.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/17/opinion/17rich-5.html?_r=1
Joe H
What do you think is the likelihood that candidate Obama said and promised things he either didn't know he could do or did know (said the right things to get eleected) and now is facing reality. It's also pretty presumptious for anyone outside government to know the reality of the political, military and national security issues.
Hey anonymous:
If the links Joe provides are correct, and the Iraq war was trumped up at the cost of thousands of American lives and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi lives, then you claim that anyone is being "presumptuous" is absolutely horrifying.
I want to live in a nation governed by the Rule of Law, and if heads must roll to make that so, so be it.
On the pictures issue, there are a number of possibilities. Obama may truly be worried about their inflamatory effect on the Muslum world - in which case he should never have promised to release them prior to looking at them.
I suspect that Obama's real goal was to avoid inflaiming the American citzenry. This probably won't work, but I can understand the motive. He might also be facing a revolt at the CIA, which is a serious concern. But if that's the case, then he needs to begin dismantaling the CIA so that we can start completely over.
I don't agree with Obama's attempts to avoid an investigation. His refusal to investigate is clearly unlawful pursuant to the Convention on Torture.
As far as the "presumptious" comment goes, the need for secrecy in certain circumstances cannot be allowed to morph into an imunity against the government explaining itsself to its citizens and abiding by the law. We gave the Bush aministration the benefit of the doubt for many years, and look what turns out to have been going on.
The human heart has a dark element. Power needs to be dispersed. Secrecy must be limited.
It's interesting how "rule of Law" becomes this almost sacred principle that supposedly is perfect, true and completely neutral - I don't believe it. Law, just like politics, religion, etc. is prone to the effects of the "dark elements of the human heart" just like anything else. We need laws and I think the US justice system works okay (it works much better for the elite, the influential, the wealthy, etc..) but it's not as sacred and perfect as you make it out to be.
As far as the war being trumped up, it may or may not be the case; but to suggest you can be so certain is presumptious, unless you work for the Pentagon or the NSA. As far as news and blogs, etc. - media accounts do not equal truth. Everybody has an agenda, especially the US media.
I do find it interesting that you are not even willing to entertain the possibility that Obama may have campaigned and taken political positions in order to get elected, but now realizes (or knew all along) that he could never uphold all his promises, especially those that appeal to the left.
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