Should the torture memo writers be tried?
The discussions going on now are interesting because Obama:
1) Said he wouldn't prosecute the torturers who were doing it thinking it was legal.
2) He'd let the Justice Department decide if they should try the folks who wrote the papers giving legal justification.
As usual, the main point is being missed.
Smart leaders always have their subordinates plan for every contingencies. It's been known for a long time that they'll get opinion written from all views to decide what to do. Those memos aren't what allowed people to torture. Those memos gave Shrub and Cheney the excuse to order torturing. It was they who made the decision.
I do not think the people who wrote the legal briefs are guilty of anything. If it can be proven that they agreed with what they wrote, something brief writers often don't do, they are only guilty of being scumbags. It's the people at the top who ordered the process who must be held accountable. Of course, nobody's talking about that and nobody will ever do that. Congress should have impeached, but it only cares about private sexual peccadillo's.
1) Said he wouldn't prosecute the torturers who were doing it thinking it was legal.
2) He'd let the Justice Department decide if they should try the folks who wrote the papers giving legal justification.
As usual, the main point is being missed.
Smart leaders always have their subordinates plan for every contingencies. It's been known for a long time that they'll get opinion written from all views to decide what to do. Those memos aren't what allowed people to torture. Those memos gave Shrub and Cheney the excuse to order torturing. It was they who made the decision.
I do not think the people who wrote the legal briefs are guilty of anything. If it can be proven that they agreed with what they wrote, something brief writers often don't do, they are only guilty of being scumbags. It's the people at the top who ordered the process who must be held accountable. Of course, nobody's talking about that and nobody will ever do that. Congress should have impeached, but it only cares about private sexual peccadillo's.