Posted by
Ike on Friday, April 24, 2009 2:23:34 PM
The recent manipulation and maneuvering by President Obama and members of his Administration, principally his Attorney
General, concerning the approval and use of so-called torture under the Administration of President Bush reveals two important
things about our new President.
First, he is shown to be a supreme manipulator of the public, prominent members of his party, leaders of his party's powerful factions and of the media. This is shown by the manner in which he produced the clamour for investigations and trials of "officials". Initially
he said that no good purpose is served by criminal proceedings against them. Then some of his staff and cabinet made remarks
intended to be "off-the-cuff" and indignant about how awful and horrific that torture of Guantanamo prisoners was and how the U.S.
doesn't "do" torture. Next, the President makes a point of telling CIA officers that they won't be prosecuted for "only following
orders". Then the Attorney General states that the Administration is going to conduct criminal investigations of unspecified officials
of President Bush's administration. Next, the media and leadership of the Democratic Party indulge in a veritable chorus of
demands for "accountability" and lamentations of how they were kept uninformed by the previous administration of these incidents
of "torture". Finally, the furor dies down a bit and an important Democrat Member of the House says that they ought to wait for the Senate committee to complete its investigation. Notice how the stage is now set for the President to do whatever he thinks that
he wants to do, once that committee report is released .. at least released to him.
Second, he shows no apparent understanding of the fact that whatever each administration does while in office sets a precedent
for subsequent administrations to follow. In plain English, if he orders or "permits" the criminal prosecution of members of President
Bush's administration who either gave advice about "torture" or wrote opinions about it, he opens the door for an administration
taking office after his last term to criminally investigate, charge and try members of the Obama Administration for their acts while
in office. Such a thing has never been done before with the power of the Federal government to indict and try criminal charges.
In case you think this is a matter only for a handful of professional staffers or politicians, consider how the quality of advice that
any given administration will get from its staff and advisors will deteriorate, if they know they are going to be subjected to criminal
charges, trial and prison sentences when they're out of office. If elected or appointed office-holders are subjected to criminal
charges and trials over this - and yes, I am saying, "If President Bush or Vice-President Cheney or any cabinet officers" - it will
mark the genuine beginning of the end for our American governmental system. One thing which has been a hallmark of our politics
is that no one is subject to criminal prosecution for their acts while in government, unless those actions are plainly violations of
existing criminal law of the United States. Not the resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly or Security Council; not
the opinions of some justice minister in any or all of the European nations; not in the opinions of the leaders of some collection of
corruption-ridden regime in some nations whose national budgets go into the pockets of their heads of state and generals. Not
any law, custom or practice of any foreign nation or international organization is the law of the United States of America, until
it has been incorporated into U.S. law by a treaty negotiated by the Executive Branch and approved by the Senate and both of
those institutions are part of the government of the U.S., not of the E.U. or any other foreign state.