Comments on: The Torture Memos: He is Us. http://www.undiplomatic.net/2009/04/17/the-torture-memos-he-is-us/ Bringing foreign policy back, girl. Those other countries don't know how to act. Mon, 21 May 2012 19:00:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Bruce http://www.undiplomatic.net/2009/04/17/the-torture-memos-he-is-us/#comment-22918 Bruce Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:31:31 +0000 http://www.undiplomatic.net/?p=3082#comment-22918 I find it infinitely more horrifying that the torture was carried out under the auspices of a formal, pseudo-legal review procedure, than if it had been done by a rogue or poorly supervised element of our government. One tragedy is that it appears that this whole episode will go by without any serious examination by an appropriate panel or commission. I'm not so interested in simply prosecuting criminals (thought that IS important) but in examining what failed in our constitutional system to allow this and other illegal activities to happen with impunity. It appears that despite our system of checks and balances, when a sufficiently craven group occupies the executive branch there is very little that can be done to stop them from breaking the law at will. I think a few circumstances made this episode as bad as it was: 1. An ineffective Congress consisting largely of rabid ideologues in the majority and political cowards in the minority (until they became the majority in '06). 2. The successful fabrication by the administration of an existential "Greater War on Terror". In reality (in 2001) we were up against a few hundred religious fanatics who had managed to get financial backing and a sponsor state: a serious problem but in no way an existential threat. This was helped along by the decrepit performance of the media. 3. A Justice Department that was politically compromised to (to my knowledge) an unprecedented extent. Unfortunately, from time to time (perhaps more the rule than the exception) there will be bad people in the White House. What can be done to hold them in check? I find it infinitely more horrifying that the torture was carried out under the auspices of a formal, pseudo-legal review procedure, than if it had been done by a rogue or poorly supervised element of our government.

One tragedy is that it appears that this whole episode will go by without any serious examination by an appropriate panel or commission. I’m not so interested in simply prosecuting criminals (thought that IS important) but in examining what failed in our constitutional system to allow this and other illegal activities to happen with impunity. It appears that despite our system of checks and balances, when a sufficiently craven group occupies the executive branch there is very little that can be done to stop them from breaking the law at will. I think a few circumstances made this episode as bad as it was:

1. An ineffective Congress consisting largely of rabid ideologues in the majority and political cowards in the minority (until they became the majority in ‘06).

2. The successful fabrication by the administration of an existential “Greater War on Terror”. In reality (in 2001) we were up against a few hundred religious fanatics who had managed to get financial backing and a sponsor state: a serious problem but in no way an existential threat. This was helped along by the decrepit performance of the media.

3. A Justice Department that was politically compromised to (to my knowledge) an unprecedented extent.

Unfortunately, from time to time (perhaps more the rule than the exception) there will be bad people in the White House. What can be done to hold them in check?

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