Kristol Now Thinks Torture Debate Is ‘Healthy’ If Democrats Are Also The Focus
Many conservatives have expressed outrage that President Obama earlier this month released four-Bush era Office of Legal Counsel memos that detail the Bush administration's legal justification for torture. Not only has the right criticized Obama for releasing the memos, but it has succumbed to defending the use of torture and argued vigorously that no official investigations should ensue.
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However, last night on Fox, Kristol pulled an about face, saying that any debate into the matter would be "healthy." Why? Because he wants to include the Clinton administration:
KRISTOL: I hope that debate goes to the whole, not just the last eight year, but the last 16 years. Let's discuss the Clinton administration, which had renditions, sent people they captured to places where they were treated. <...> But let's have a big debate about whether the Bush administration acted properly or not, and whether the Clinton administration acted properly or not, and how to act going forward in fighting this war on terror. I think it's a healthy debate.
Watch a video compilation of Kristol's evolution:
http://thinkprogress.org/2009/04/28/kristol-torture-healthy/