Was President Obama courageous in releasing the torture memos?

[kentuck]

Since the entire intelligence community, including the last 4 CIA directors and the present one, seem to be against it? What did he hope to gain? Surely the right-wing media will attack him unmercifully for the release?

Did it take courage to release the memos under these circumstances? Or was it an easy decision for him?
It is doubtful that he could get a majority of Democrats to agree with his decision.

There seems to be no political upside to this decision. However, the President is saying to America and the world that we do not torture anymore. But the memos clearly show that our country broke international laws and treaties under the Bush Administration. The question that remains is, how far do the American people wish to go in uncovering this story and holding responsible those guilty of torture of other human beings? If President Obama wants to put it behind us and move forward, why did he release the memos in the first place??

[babylonsister]

1. Greenwald and Hamsher think so, and I'm inclined to agree...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=5488446&mesg_id=5488446

snip//

In the United States, what Obama did yesterday is simply not done. American Presidents do not disseminate to the world documents which narrate in vivid, elaborate detail the dirty, illegal deeds done by the CIA, especially not when the actions are very recent, were approved and ordered by the President of the United States, and the CIA is aggressively demanding that the documents remain concealed and claiming that their release will harm national security. When is the last time a President did that?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=103x441483
' President Obama did an amazingly important thing by releasing the torture memos.'

[Psychic Consortium]

2. His courage and moral compass shine as a beacon to all of us.

And his masterful chess game is a joy to behold.

Learn from the master.

[glitch]

3. Absolutely.

And I try not to speak in absolutes very often. :)

[MoJoWorkin]

4. Be careful, you are making way too much sense for some here on DU.

[MannyGoldstein]

8. Can You Elaborate? n/t

[liberalmuse]

5. Yes he was. He did the right thing in the midst of extraordinary pressure...

and from all sides. Even Panetta discouraged their release, but President Obama is going to do what he feels is right, it seems.

[cali]

6. yes, of course. how can anyone argue differently?

[MannyGoldstein]

7. Yes; But His Responsibility Is To Prosecute.

This is his job. Nobody said that being president is for wimps.

[movonne]

11. This can also happen...it just might take time and a lot of people

pushing for it..with all my heart I hope it happens...

[northzax]

13. Actually, no, it isn't.

The President does not directly control and legal investigative agencies or prosecutorial ones. That's the Attorney General's job. Obviously, Holder takes general directions from Obama, but enforcing the law is actually his job, regardless of what the President may want or say. Technically, that is.

[Old Codger]

17. Yes BUT

Obama can tell him to go for it and he would most likely do so, also as I understand the law he is duty bound to prosecute if a law is broken, aiding and abetting after the fact if they let it go.

[northzax]

18. It was political interference with the Justice Department

That helped get us into this mess, remember?

[MannyGoldstein]

20. That Was Interference For Political Purposes

A different thing entirely, no?

[Old Codger]

28. you bet

Absolutely, apples and oranges....One was for political gain the other would be to see that the laws of this nation,actually the laws of the world be enforced.

[MannyGoldstein]

19. The Buck Stops... With Someone Else?

It's not like this is, say, a bust for possession of an ounce of pot. These are war crimes, to which we must answer to the world. I believe that it is our president's responsibility to ensure prosecution.

[northzax]

21. so when Gonzo did Bush's bidding it was wrong

but if Holder does Obama's bidding it's all good? Huh. The AG is supposed to be independant. That's how it's supposed to work.

[MannyGoldstein]

25. The Judiciary Is Independent; The AG Is Not

The AG has to follow the law rather than politics, but otherwise it must follow the president's lead.

[northzax]

9. Courageous?

He was under a court order to do so. Sure, the White House could have kept fighting it, but that would have been out of character.

[cali]

10. it would have been much easier for him to keep fighting it. n/t

[northzax]

14. Not really.

From what I've seen of the Obama legal framework, that wouldn't hold up to internal scrutiny. It was far easier to comply now, when there are plenty of distractions, than run this all the way up to the Supremes for something he doesn't believe in. One thing Obama has demonstrated repeatedly in his career is a knack for picking his battles well, he's not going to waste his capital on something like this that he's going to lose eventually anyway.

Plus, let's look at the cold political calculus: the same week as the largest protests against his policies so far, he just reminded everyone about the assholes who got us into this mess.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

12. No. He was under pressure from the ACLU. And, his refusal to try the criminals is cowardly.

[HopeOverFear]

22. Bullshit. He could've used executive privilege to get around the ACLU but he didn't

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. And, suffered the consequences of being another Nixon?

I don't think he dared go that far. Instead, he took the easiest way out. Make vague hints about further prosecutions while letting the torturers walk.

It obviously didn't work for anyone but the thugs.

[HopeOverFear]

27. when did he make vague hints about prosecutions?

[Fireweed247]

15. All part of the Dog and Pony Show

I don't believe they told us even half of what they were doing, and then he vowed not to prosecute.

Just like the illegal wiretapping, oh we accidentally wiretapped ONE member of Congress :eyes:

[spanone]

16. i think it's a continuation of his promise to have more transparency in gov't.

[Median Democrat]

24. Yes, How Often Do Other Nations Acknowledge State Condoned Torture?

This is the first instance I recall. Heck, look at how long it took to acknowledge the internment of Japanese Americans was wrong.

[bvar22]

26. I think the question should be:

Would Obama have released the documents had he not been forced to by a FOI lawsuit?

Its not exactly like he volunteered them.
Of course, he could have used the Bush precedent of the Unitary Executive and refused.