[Chuckman
Other Choice of Words Blog Spot, U.S.]
NRC
Handelsblad, The Netherlands
Torture Has No
Place in 'Shining City on a Hill'
"That the
U.S. was receptive to a dictatorial regime with totalitarian traits is
illustrated by the ease with which these memos were accepted. In Congress, they
were never really questioned. … Perhaps somewhere in that city upon a hill,
there is a judge who holds a different view than Obama on the principle that
everyone is equal under the law."
EDITORIAL
Translated By Meta Mertens
May 2, 2009
The
Netherlands - NRC Handelsblad - Original Article (Dutch)
The most difficult decision
President Obama has had to make so far has not been about the future, but the
past. Recently, he released still-secret memos produced in 2002 on the
interrogation methods being used in the “war on terror.”
“Enhanced interrogation techniques,”
as one Orwellian Justice Department official labeled them, are now passé. But
Obama doesn't want to put the perpetrators on trial. “We must look ahead,” he
said. But that can only occur by looking back. By practicing torture, America
has tied itself in knots. It demands an exception in its battle against
"evil" after ignoring the absolute prohibition on torture. The core
of the constitutional state - the shining city on a hill that the U.S. wants to
protect, has in fact been undermined.
And it was even done knowingly. The
torture memos reveal not only a frightening lack of judicial awareness, but of historical
knowledge. Keeping prisoners awake, hanging them from ceilings and walls, locking
them in cages with insects or subjecting them to apparent drowning deaths by
“water boarding”: as a desk-bound ideologue, ex-President Bush should have done
some research. If he had, he would have discovered the history of this obscurantism
[historical throwback]. During the Korean War, American soldiers were victims
of the kind of practices that were given legal cover by the 2002 memos. The
Eisenhower government examined the practice and came to two conclusions: that these
techniques are a form of torture; and that they are useless. They produce simply
unreliable information because the victim is so malleable he would confess to
anything.
Connoisseurs of witch trials, the Inquisition and Stalin's show trials could have told Bush the same. That the U.S. was receptive
to a dictatorial regime with totalitarian traits is illustrated by the ease
with which these memos were accepted. In Congress, they were never really
questioned. And as these practices were applied, judicial and medical personnel
watched to see that everything went according to plan. They lent torture a
legitimacy that could not exist under American constitutional law. In
retrospect, it appears that in 2002, Bush withdrew from the International
Criminal Court with premeditation. [In May of 2002, the U.S. formally rejected
the treaty establishing the ICC, the first permanent international institution
dedicated to trying cases of genocide, war crimes and other human rights
abuses]. It was as if he wanted to preempt any legal discussion of this
injustice. Thanks to the publicity, now at least a moral judgment can be made.
Yet, something still rankles. The
memos point to crimes that were punished as
capital offenses [war crimes] after World War II, with sentences imposed ironically
by American Judges. Obama's “let's let bygones be bygones” stance allows this abuse
of power evade justice with the approval of no less than the State itself.
Posted by WORLDMEETS.US
SEE ALSO ON THIS:
Le Temps, Switzerland:
Doing Evil in the Name of the Good
Izvestia, Russia:
U.S. and Torture: For Mr. Obama, It's 'Hard to Be Gorby'
Publico, Spain:
Torture Charges Filed Against Bush Legal Team; Judge Garzon Handles Case
Hurriyet, Turkey:
Dick Cheney's Torture Logic is 'Deeply Offensive'
Die Tageszeitung, Germany:
America and Torture: 'Just Following Orders'
Financial Times Deutschland, Germany:
Obama: Inviting the Next Torture Scandal
Jornal de Noticias, Portugal:
Poverty and Torture: Bush Has Company in Europe
Le Monde, France:
'Fussy' Rights Groups 'Wrong' to Be Impatient with Obama
Le Figaro, France:
Obama's Moral Crusade: A Few Words of Caution
The Independent, U.K.:
America Doesn't Need a Witch-Hunt
BBC News, U.K.:
U.N. Special Rapporteur on Torture Calls CIA Exemption 'Illegal'
Ottawa Citizen, Canada:
Torture the 'Chicago Way'
Toronto Star, Canada:
Winking at CIA Abuse
The president is sensible in wanting
to avoid a day of judgment. In a democracy, politicians must be able to work without
fear of retribution. And that also applies to civil servants - but within the framework
of the law. The matter, therefore, is not yet closed. Perhaps somewhere in that
city upon a hill, there is a judge who holds a different view than Obama on the
principle that everyone is equal under the law, and who will refuse to rule out
the prosecution of “water boarders” or their superiors.
Even in a fight in which one of
the parties - the terrorists - won't play by the rules, torture is prohibited
at all times. In this, America should not be exempt.
CLICK HERE FOR
DUTCH VERSION
[Posted by WORLDMEETS.US May 5,
3:34am]
