America compromises its ideals – again

[CHIMO]

Famously fast off the starting line with his executive orders against torture and Guantánamo Bay (issued on his second day in office), President Obama looked like a man in a hurry to re-establish some of the USA's damaged standing in the world. But he's shifting down the gears now and there's a danger that he'll end up in reverse.

The decision to shield those responsible for torture from prosecution – "in any state or federal judicial or administrative proceeding … in any international or foreign tribunal" – represents a nasty grinding of the cogs.

Under pressure from a freedom of information lawsuit, the Obama administration has agreed to make public four infamous torture memos. This is welcome – and I do question whether it would happen in the UK – and exhibits a determination to break from the past.

However, in the president's formulation, the current period is now supposed to be about "reflection, not retribution". "Nothing", he says, "will be gained by spending our time and energy laying blame for the past".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/apr/18/obama-torture-memos

Just following orders.

Now perhaps history has to be re-written. And the future will now follow.

[mix]

1. Obama's mistake is to think we can move on.

When a country does compromise its ideals and commits war crimes such as torture and/or genocide, or commits crimes against humanity, moving on is not possible.

History does not work like that.

Thanks for posting the article, very convincing.

[emulatorloo]

3. See my post below, there is stuff to do. . .EOM

[emulatorloo]

2. Jane Hamsher of FireDogLake worth reading too:

President Obama did an amazingly important thing by releasing the torture memos.'
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x441483

From the link:

excerpt:

In making the memos public, Obama gave the public everything we need to demand that they be investigated. The evidence is harrowing, and it's clear that these people were wantonly transgressing the law. It's our obligation as citizens to take it from here, and to create the climate for doing what needs to be done. The media doesn't want to use the word "torture" -- but it's instantly obvious to anyone who reads these memos that it was torture by any rational standard.

We're working with Glenn Greenwald to organize right now, and here are the efforts we'll be whipping support for next week:

• Jan Schakowsky is talking with the Justice Department, and asking that contractors not get the same immunity as CIA officials. She's specifically talking about James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen who developed the torture program.

• Jerold Nadler, Chair of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, is calling for a special prosecutor: "We must have a criminal investigation if the U.S. is to reclaim its moral authority and prevent repetition of these crimes.

• DDay and other California bloggers are pushing for a resolution at the upcoming California Democratic Party Convention calling for the impeachment of Jay "Insect Memo" Bybee, who is still sitting on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

We're also communicating with other organizations and coordinating a consolidated campaign to push for an investigation, and we'll be delivering signatures to the Justice Department calling for a special prosecutor (you can add yours here: http://action.firedoglake.com/page/s/Prosecutor ).


If anyone has good online communications skills and some spare time and is interested in helping with these efforts, drop me a line.

http://firedoglake.com/2009/04/17/torture-looking-forward-by-cleaning-up-the-past