An independent review of the U.S. government's anti-terrorism response after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks reported Tuesday that it is "indisputable" the United States engaged in torture and the George W. Bush administration bears responsibility. ... The report says brutality has occurred in war before, "But there is no evidence there had ever before been the kind of considered and detailed discussions that occurred after September 11, directly involving a president and his top advisers on the wisdom, propriety and legality of inflicting pain and torment on some detainees in our custody."Regular readers of this blog may recall that I've been advising them to not travel abroad for a while now.
The verdict of history is coming in: You guys tortured people.
Oh, and President Obama? You're not off the hook. By not doing anything to investigate the war crimes of the Bushies, you are covering them up. That makes you complicit in them. Covering up war cries is, in and of itself, a war crime.
This stain on our national honor will not be removed by reports. It can only be removed by bringing our own alleged war criminals to justice. But I have no confidence that we will ever do that. As a people, we just don't have that kind of stones. So we might as well just repeal our own law on torture.
Allow me to say that although I'm pretty far across the spectrum from you, politically speaking, I'm 100% with you on this point. Crimes are crimes. Officially sanctioned torture is a war crime by any definition one can imagine, and it's unconscionable that those responsible have not had to face so much as a slap on the wrist for their decisions and actions - let alone the penalties they deserve.
ReplyDeleteThis stains the honor of the United States, and of every citizen and resident.
This will come back to haunt us and these stooges will still be saying it's because they hate our freedom.
ReplyDeleteBush has been to Canada and Cheney and Henry K were just in the UK for Maggie Iron Drawers funeral so there are two safe travel destinations for the criminals. And, of course, John Yoo can always go back to North Korea.
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