My Official Position on Torture
Courtesy of... This can't be right. Is this right? I guess it is right.
Anyway, my official position on torture courtesy of Shepherd Smith of Fox News.
I hardly think that declining to state categorically that one will not investigate and prosecute alleged unlawful acts committed by the previous administration is "criminalizing policy differences". The law on the matter seems quite clear to me: The United States ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1994, and further supporting laws have been adopted since.
Honestly, I believe Mr. Obama has shown remarkable restraint in this matter. Perhaps it's just enlightened self interest on his part. I prefer to think it's precisely because he fully understands that if we start down the road of prosecuting former Presidents, no matter what the offense, we'll be lucky to get a Caesar.
I suppose I was naive to think, "We're Americans. We don't do that," in the first place. I've read the stories from WWII, such as in Company Commander by Charles MacDonald where the prisoners were to be escorted to the rear but mysteriously never made it. I lived with a Vietnam vet who was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. I recall the tone he used when he described seeing the crucified and mutilated bodies of his captors after he had been rescued by American Special Forces. I fully recognize how difficult it is to master the emotional desire for revenge in extreme circumstances such as during combat.
However, the acts documented in the memos were not done by soldiers in extremis near the front while the war raged on. The subjects were removed from the combat area, transported thousands of miles and only then tortured in cold blood. In some cases by contractors hired for that purpose.
Naive though it may be, I honestly believe that being 'The Americans' should still mean something special, and thus these prima facie unlawful acts cannot be tolerated no matter what the circumstances. The only policy difference I see that is worth debating is whether or not the ex-President and his men can be brought to justice without damaging the republic beyond repair.
cf. Text of the UN Convention Against Torture
cf. Report from November, 2001 by Amnesty International USA on Torture and the Law in the US
Anyway, my official position on torture courtesy of Shepherd Smith of Fox News.
Click to viewI hardly think that declining to state categorically that one will not investigate and prosecute alleged unlawful acts committed by the previous administration is "criminalizing policy differences". The law on the matter seems quite clear to me: The United States ratified the UN Convention Against Torture in 1994, and further supporting laws have been adopted since.
Honestly, I believe Mr. Obama has shown remarkable restraint in this matter. Perhaps it's just enlightened self interest on his part. I prefer to think it's precisely because he fully understands that if we start down the road of prosecuting former Presidents, no matter what the offense, we'll be lucky to get a Caesar.
I suppose I was naive to think, "We're Americans. We don't do that," in the first place. I've read the stories from WWII, such as in Company Commander by Charles MacDonald where the prisoners were to be escorted to the rear but mysteriously never made it. I lived with a Vietnam vet who was shot down and captured by the North Vietnamese. I recall the tone he used when he described seeing the crucified and mutilated bodies of his captors after he had been rescued by American Special Forces. I fully recognize how difficult it is to master the emotional desire for revenge in extreme circumstances such as during combat.
However, the acts documented in the memos were not done by soldiers in extremis near the front while the war raged on. The subjects were removed from the combat area, transported thousands of miles and only then tortured in cold blood. In some cases by contractors hired for that purpose.
Naive though it may be, I honestly believe that being 'The Americans' should still mean something special, and thus these prima facie unlawful acts cannot be tolerated no matter what the circumstances. The only policy difference I see that is worth debating is whether or not the ex-President and his men can be brought to justice without damaging the republic beyond repair.
cf. Text of the UN Convention Against Torture
cf. Report from November, 2001 by Amnesty International USA on Torture and the Law in the US