Well, gee…back in post World War II, the “We were only following orders” defense didn’t fly at the Nuremberg trials. Flash forward sixty years later into the twenty-first century and the Obama administration is letting the CIA torturers off the prosecutorial hook because they “were only following orders,” i.e., they were told that what they were doing is legal by the Bush Administration.
What’s wrong with this picture? At least, the Obama people said nothing about letting the Bush Administration off the hook. That’s a good sign.
But why did the lower ranks in the military get jobbed for indecent behavior at Abu Ghraib? The higher ranks up to and including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld didn’t even get a passing look at being culpable for what was going on in the prison. Shouldn’t the CIA torturers been equally held accountable in addition to the Bush Administration?
Can't anybody see this pattern? First, the Bush Administration tells the telecommunications giants that illegal wiretapping is legal. So the corporations blithely go forth illegally wiretapping their merry hearts out. Then when the sordid affair is exposed, our government pushes through a retroactive immunity law to get the corporations off the hook.
When the CIA is told that illegal torture (waterboarding internationally since post WWII, for one) is legal, they go forth merrily torturing “enemy combatants” until it is exposed with the release of testimony and documents detailing the tortures. Now, the Obama administration is letting the CIA torturers off the hook.
Amazing what sixty years can bring about. I believe that this is a very serious issue. It illustrates that even when common decency tells a person something is absolutely wrong (including the fact there are international laws against it), if the “Powers That Be” say go ahead with it, it shall be done – with no future recriminations. Is this the new precedent we have set forth? Is this the mind set we want in our country in this day and age? Basic rights egregiously violated because higher-ups say it’s “OK”? Then not to be held accountable when the abhorrent behavior is exposed?
My final question is: can Congress (weak and feckless as it is) override the administration and prosecute the individuals who caused such misery to our fellow human beings? We should also point the cross hairs at the entire Bush Administration and make sure that those responsible for saying it is “OK” are equally held accountable.
I await, albeit with a major lack of confidence, that the Bush leaders will be held accountable.
No comments:
Post a Comment