President Barack Obama on Friday starkly criticised the CIA’s past treatment of terror suspects, saying he could understand why the agency rushed to use controversial interrogation techniques in the aftermath of 9/11 but conceding: “We tortured some folks.”People committed war crimes. People very high up, including George W. Bush, Richard Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, John Ashcroft, Donald Rumsfeld, and a whole host of lesser included players, all knew that people were being tortured. They did nothing and worse, they approved of it.
In some of the most expansive and blunt remarks on the CIA’s programme of rendition and detention he has made since coming to office, Obama said the country “crossed a line” as it struggled to react to the threat of further attacks by al-Qaida. However, he also said it was important “not to feel too sanctimonious”, adding that he believed intelligence officials responsible for torturing detainees were working during a period of extraordinary stress and fear.
The President of the United States has admitted that people working for the United States government committed war crimes. But he's also signaled that that, unlike those who committed war crimes without approval, that those who committed approved war crimes won't be held accountable.
We'll be like the Germans, in that if any of those clowns are still alive in 2070, then they'll be prosecuted.
Count on this: There will be more outrage on Capitol Hill over the CIA confessing to having spied on them than there will be to the unsurprising revelation that the CIA and the DoD committed war crimes.
By sweeping our own war crimes under the rug, we have lost the moral high ground. Much in the same way that the Catholic Church did.
Although I share your concern about the lack of repercussions, this is entirely in keeping with who we are as a country. From the Palmer Raids to the internment of the Japanese to CONINTELPRO, this is what America does when threatened. To me, the issue is how quickly the nation moves back to the 'we abhor the actions taken in our name!' ground after the fact. I don't sense that at all these days, which is terrifying.
ReplyDeleteDon't know if it is just the fact more people can express their stupidity and basic vile nature on the internet or things really are getting worse. My position is that both are taking place. Though it is impressive the numbers of want to be storm troopers that are popping up in the right wing and sovereign citizen movements. Don't mean in a good way regards the storm troopers.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like one heck of a shit load of people are really scared about things changing.
Oh yeah agree competley with not a fucking thing.
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