But we will not know the truth of what has been done in our name until a thorough, independent investigation has been conducted. It is clear from the Attorney General's comments that the government cannot be trusted to do this alone. We've done plenty of reflecting, and it's now time to act like a true democracy, built on the rule of law. Laws mean nothing if they are not enforced.
Go to any prison or jail in the United States, and you will find countless unsympathetic criminals: rapists, murderers, even domestic terrorists. Imagine telling an American police officer to treat these criminals in the manner outlined by the torture memos. What would they do? Would they blindly follow the command to do what they knew was wrong, both morally but also legally? The vast majority would not. Our agents in Iraq, Afghanistan and the other black sites knew better too.
The CIA officers in the field knew what they wanted to do was wrong which is precisely why they sought legal cover from the Office of Legal Council. They lawyered up. Jay Bybee, John Yoo and Steven Bradbury knew they were ignoring decades of jurisprudence in drafting their memos. This is not a good faith misunderstanding, this was a coldblooded decision to torture prisoners in American custody.
Laws have been broken and fundamental human rights have been abused. We have a responsibility to ourselves, to our nation and to the international community to show that this was wrong and that such a deviation from the values on which America was built shall not go unpunished.
more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2009/4/17/721310/-Those-torture-memos
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