Fanatics
George Santayana defined fanaticism as "redoubling your effort after you've forgotten your aim". "Enhanced interrogation", or torture, is the target of the latest salvo fired off by certain partisan fanatics of a particular political bent in their ongoing campaign to purge the nation of any lingering vestiges of Bushism. But with their scattershot approach, there was bound to be some collateral damage and unintended targets. And the latest most prominent victim of friendly fire--blue-on-blue, as it were--is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Pelosi has been taking fire from partisan fanatics of a different political bent lately. As some Republicans have gleefully pointed out, she was the ranking Democrat present at a 2002 House Intelligence Committee briefing concerning the interrogation of suspected terrorists. At this briefing, the Representatives were made aware that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" had been approved for use. Today, Pelosi deployed a smokescreen, saying that the CIA had lied to her about their use of waterboarding prior to the 2002 briefing.
But Pelosi is trying to make a distinction that just isn't there. She knew about the use of waterboarding in 2002. Whether it was prior use or potential use makes no difference. She expressed no outrage and no misgivings. She said nothing for years, nothing until it was politically expedient to make an issue out of it.
And I don't care. As I have long argued, September 11, 2001 changed us. I'm not talking about any kind of superficial flag-waving change, but we as a nation and a culture had never experienced anything like that day in our history. It changed us, and we reacted to it in all kinds of ways. Some people curled into the fetal position and watched CNN obsessively. There was a surge in military enlistment. And some people acted inappropriately. I know I thought and said things that I am not entirely comfortable with now. If I had been in a position of power at the time, I'm sure I would have not objected to using "enhanced interrogation techniques" on suspected terrorist plotters. I think most people, had they known what waterboarding was, would have quickly agreed to its use--just as most of our elected officials did. I don't blame Speaker Pelosi for temporarily losing her moral compass. We, as a nation, lost our way. And we are just now finding it back again.
But fanaticism won't show us that way. Certain Democrats were so intent on redoubling their efforts, so hell-bent on expending as much political ammunition as they could at Bush & Co. that they neglected to check their aim. Speaker Pelosi is a victim of their friendly fire. Fanatics on both sides of the aisle are so concerned with inflicting damage on their enemies that they don't even care about damaging their friends--or their country.
Pelosi has been taking fire from partisan fanatics of a different political bent lately. As some Republicans have gleefully pointed out, she was the ranking Democrat present at a 2002 House Intelligence Committee briefing concerning the interrogation of suspected terrorists. At this briefing, the Representatives were made aware that waterboarding and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" had been approved for use. Today, Pelosi deployed a smokescreen, saying that the CIA had lied to her about their use of waterboarding prior to the 2002 briefing.
But Pelosi is trying to make a distinction that just isn't there. She knew about the use of waterboarding in 2002. Whether it was prior use or potential use makes no difference. She expressed no outrage and no misgivings. She said nothing for years, nothing until it was politically expedient to make an issue out of it.
And I don't care. As I have long argued, September 11, 2001 changed us. I'm not talking about any kind of superficial flag-waving change, but we as a nation and a culture had never experienced anything like that day in our history. It changed us, and we reacted to it in all kinds of ways. Some people curled into the fetal position and watched CNN obsessively. There was a surge in military enlistment. And some people acted inappropriately. I know I thought and said things that I am not entirely comfortable with now. If I had been in a position of power at the time, I'm sure I would have not objected to using "enhanced interrogation techniques" on suspected terrorist plotters. I think most people, had they known what waterboarding was, would have quickly agreed to its use--just as most of our elected officials did. I don't blame Speaker Pelosi for temporarily losing her moral compass. We, as a nation, lost our way. And we are just now finding it back again.
But fanaticism won't show us that way. Certain Democrats were so intent on redoubling their efforts, so hell-bent on expending as much political ammunition as they could at Bush & Co. that they neglected to check their aim. Speaker Pelosi is a victim of their friendly fire. Fanatics on both sides of the aisle are so concerned with inflicting damage on their enemies that they don't even care about damaging their friends--or their country.