Friday, October 06, 2006
Root them out.
Walter Pincus writes an article in the Washington post that details the use of waterboarding through out recent history. The report is very informative and I would recommend reading it simply for the historical perspective on this issue. It was not until the very end of the article that something jumped out at me. Pincus describes the techniques that were approved by the White House and says:
I understand these briefings are highly confidential and to leak information would be to break the law. At what point does the conscience of our leaders not allow them to silently stand by as the President turns to monstrosity? Say that a Congress member were to be secretly briefed that the President intended to commit a genocide. At what point does that member stand up and say this is not acceptable and if not stopped immediately we will bring it to public light!
It is my belief that any member of Congress who knew that the administration intended to explicitly torture detainees, and allowed that to pass in silence, ought to be voted out of office at the very least. They can not give the excuse that the law prohibited them from doing the right thing. The law prohibited the President from allowing this in the first place. To stay silent while knowing that an evil is being forwarded in Americas name is not acceptable.
I focus on possible Democratic culpability in this post because anyone who knows a bit about this blog knows I spend most of my time ripping up the Repugs. This post should not be taken as any sort of excuse for Republican Congress members who were briefed. They are as culpable as any possible Democrats in the same boat.
Fifteen years hard labor. That was the sentence given to the Japanese war criminal convicted of waterboarding American service members in WWII. Those responsible for this behavior in modern times had better pray that when the accounting for their actions finally happens that their judge is more inclined to leniency.
These were cleared not only at the White House but also by the Justice Department and briefed to senior congressional officials, according to a statement released last month by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Waterboarding was one of the approved techniques.If this is true I must tell you that I am simply shocked. Were there any Democrats who were briefed on this? If there were I am prepared to take a stand against them as continuing to serve as members of the Democratic party. I don't want them! They need to be rooted out because they have failed as public servants to take any action against what will historically be noted as a mark of shame on this nation.
I understand these briefings are highly confidential and to leak information would be to break the law. At what point does the conscience of our leaders not allow them to silently stand by as the President turns to monstrosity? Say that a Congress member were to be secretly briefed that the President intended to commit a genocide. At what point does that member stand up and say this is not acceptable and if not stopped immediately we will bring it to public light!
It is my belief that any member of Congress who knew that the administration intended to explicitly torture detainees, and allowed that to pass in silence, ought to be voted out of office at the very least. They can not give the excuse that the law prohibited them from doing the right thing. The law prohibited the President from allowing this in the first place. To stay silent while knowing that an evil is being forwarded in Americas name is not acceptable.
I focus on possible Democratic culpability in this post because anyone who knows a bit about this blog knows I spend most of my time ripping up the Repugs. This post should not be taken as any sort of excuse for Republican Congress members who were briefed. They are as culpable as any possible Democrats in the same boat.
Fifteen years hard labor. That was the sentence given to the Japanese war criminal convicted of waterboarding American service members in WWII. Those responsible for this behavior in modern times had better pray that when the accounting for their actions finally happens that their judge is more inclined to leniency.
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