Comments on: Torture Memos Utilized Flawed Legal Reasoning http://www.workingdefinition.com/2009/04/23/torture-memos-utilized-flawed-legal-reasoning Thu, 17 Nov 2011 07:16:08 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Dan http://www.workingdefinition.com/2009/04/23/torture-memos-utilized-flawed-legal-reasoning/comment-page-1#comment-8835 Dan Fri, 24 Apr 2009 16:46:46 +0000 http://www.workingdefinition.com/?p=690#comment-8835 So what do you think is going to come of all this? The fact that there haven't been mass demonstrations says something to me. I mean, if we can't get riled up and out on the streets because the long-held view that the Bush administration tortured detainees as official policy, then I don't know what can. Oh wait, I do - ridiculous anti-tax "tea bagging" rallies, which, sexual innuendo aside, promote the most nonsensical and ill-informed views I've seen in a while (and I'm from the far left!) Anyway, I have an inside suspicion that by telling the CIA and others "everything will be fine, we [meaning his administration] won't prosecute", Obama played this political gambit masterfully. Because SOMEthing will have to be done, heads will have to roll, and the torture memos are basically the nail in the coffin that Cheney et al. broke the law. So I think congress will have to pick up the slack here, even if just to be on the politically pragmatic side of the debate that "we don't torture in America". The Dems have a chance to look strong on national security (because torture makes us <i>less</i> safe because it's a massive terrorist recruiting tool) and I can't imagine too many from the right thinking this is all in our best interests. Even the tea-baggers shouldn't want their taxes being used to waterboard and shame-slap. So what do you think is going to come of all this? The fact that there haven’t been mass demonstrations says something to me. I mean, if we can’t get riled up and out on the streets because the long-held view that the Bush administration tortured detainees as official policy, then I don’t know what can. Oh wait, I do – ridiculous anti-tax “tea bagging” rallies, which, sexual innuendo aside, promote the most nonsensical and ill-informed views I’ve seen in a while (and I’m from the far left!)

Anyway, I have an inside suspicion that by telling the CIA and others “everything will be fine, we [meaning his administration] won’t prosecute”, Obama played this political gambit masterfully. Because SOMEthing will have to be done, heads will have to roll, and the torture memos are basically the nail in the coffin that Cheney et al. broke the law.

So I think congress will have to pick up the slack here, even if just to be on the politically pragmatic side of the debate that “we don’t torture in America”. The Dems have a chance to look strong on national security (because torture makes us less safe because it’s a massive terrorist recruiting tool) and I can’t imagine too many from the right thinking this is all in our best interests. Even the tea-baggers shouldn’t want their taxes being used to waterboard and shame-slap.

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