How Obama Excused Torture-By Bruce Fein: "Obama Has Set A Precedent Of Whitewashing WH Lawlessness"

[kpete]

How Obama Excused Torture
by Bruce Fein

Obama has set a precedent of whitewashing White House lawlessness in the name of national security that will lie around like a loaded weapon ready for resurrection by any commander in chief eager to appear “tough on terrorism” and to exploit popular fear.

.......................

The evidence is now undeniable. President Barack Obama is flouting his unflagging constitutional obligation enshrined in Article II, Section 3 to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” He is also reneging on his signature campaign promise to restore the rule of law, transparency, and accountability to the White House. He is displaying the psychology of an arrogant empire as opposed to a modest republic in continuing and escalating the Bush-Cheney duumvirate’s global and perpetual war against international terrorism heedless of foreign sovereignties or the lives of civilians.

.................

Even more disappointing, Obama has proven a political coward dangerous to the republic. Before April 16, he had decided against any criminal investigation of the Bush-Cheney duumvirate or their inner circles for their boasted complicity in torture, i.e., waterboarding, which Attorney General Eric Holder has declared is torture. He has similarly declined investigations of extraordinary renditions that have occasioned, among other things, the indictments and in absentia trials of 26 CIA operatives in Milan, Italy, for the kidnapping and torture of Egyptian cleric Abu Omar.

......................

In sweeping the Bush-Cheney lawlessness under the rug, Obama has set a precedent of whitewashing White House lawlessness in the name of national security that will lie around like a loaded weapon ready for resurrection by any commander in chief eager to appear “tough on terrorism” and to exploit popular fear. Obama urges that the crimes were justified because the duumvirate acted to protect the nation from international terrorism. But Congress did not create a national-security defense to torture or commit FISA felonies.

more at:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2009-04-17/how-obama-excused-torture/

[empyreanisles]

1. Stop posting this tripe here. NOW.

[tekisui]

2. Why do you consider it tripe?

[eShirl]

12. bwahahaha

[salguine]

23. What's tripe? Every inch of it is true. Are you uncomfortable with

the fact that it's true?

[Captain Hilts]

24. Fein broke with GWB and the Rs on this issue. He's a lawyer. nt

[Ghost in the Machine]

30. Who the fuck do you think YOU are?

You don't tell people what to post, when to post or how to post, ok?

Jeez, give someone a public forum to post on and they think they're god or a dictator all of a sudden.... :wtf:

[blm]

34. You have got to be KIDDING.

.

[TBF]

36. Thank you king of the Internet. n/t

[Orsino]

42. Compose a counter-argument. Someday.

As with the failure on marriage equality, I'm gonna need to see some justification for the waffling and delay. Is there a pony still in reach that triangulation and smart play will get us?

[walldude]

45. LMAO.. you're telling kpete what to post

A bit of advice noob. kpete is one of the most prolific and respected posters on DU, what you called tripe is news for most of us.

[OwnedByFerrets]

3. This will be an unpopular post for some here, but thank you Kpete.

[jaxx]

4. I wonder why the instant gratification crowd is satisfied with the small amout of info we've gotten

so far, and demand something be done NOW. Nevermind what else will come out, nevermind loud confrontation makes people run and hide instead of letting them feel safe with their secrets. Any investigation takes time, sometimes a long time. If the results are worth it, time is on your side....if not take a little today and be forever sorry you jumped the gun.

[tekisui]

5. I understand things take time, and that prosecutions can't come NOW!

But, it is very disheartening to hear Obama, Holder and Emmanuel say things like no bush Administration officials will be charged, and that the legal memos meant the interrogators were torturing in 'good faith'. THat is why there is outrage. Not the pace, but the refusal.

[jaxx]

6. I've yet to see an absolute refusal, except for the ones ordered to do the torture.

What I have seen is skirting the issue with words that are not binding....cat and mouse.

[tekisui]

7. I have not given up hope that may be the case.

The words leave an ever deceasing room to work, but I agree there is still room for now. Time will tell.

[HamdenRice]

13. It is bullshit posts like this that cause many to dismiss DU's Glenn Beck left teabaggers

When you post a bunch of blatantly false crap, people will dismiss whatever else you have to say.

He did not say, "no bush Administration officials will be charged"; he said almost the opposite dilineating those who relied on DOJ opinions from those who didn't. Never once did he say "no bush Administration officials will be charged".

Nor did he say, "the legal memos meant the interrogators were torturing in 'good faith'." He said that those who relied "in good faith" on memos can't be prosecuted. That's a legal term that means ONLY that the interrogators believed the memos were valid.

When you post utter rubbish like this, you lose your credibility.

[tekisui]

16. Transcript of Emmanuel on This Week:

STEPHANOPOULOS: Final quick question. The president has ruled out prosecutions for CIA officials who believed they were following the law. Does he believe that the officials who devised the policies should be immune from prosecution?

EMANUEL: What he believes is, look, as you saw in that statement he wrote, and I would just take a step back. He came up with this and he worked on this for about four weeks, wrote that statement Wednesday night, after he made his decision, and dictated what he wanted to see. And Thursday morning, I saw him in the office, he was still editing it.

He believes that people in good faith were operating with the guidance they were provided. They shouldn’t be prosecuted.

STEPHANOPOULOS: What about those who devised policy?

EMANUEL: Yes, but those who devised policy, he believes that they were -- should not be prosecuted either, and that’s not the place that we go -- as he said in that letter, and I would really recommend people look at the full statement -- not the letter, the statement -- in that second paragraph, “this is not a time for retribution.” It’s time for reflection. It’s not a time to use our energy and our time in looking back and any sense of anger and retribution.

We have a lot to do to protect America. What people need to know, this practice and technique, we don’t use anymore. He banned it.

[derby378]

18. Notice how Emanuel said torture was "banned," but not "illegal"

Same way that semi-automatic rifles were "banned" from 1994 until 2004, but private ownership of a pre-ban rifle wasn't illegal under Federal law.

Emanuel, I fear, is playing the old Three-Card Monte routine. Whatcha red card?

[TBF]

37. When you post a bunch of blatantly false crap, people will dismiss whatever else you have to say.

Yes, sort of like the subject to your post. :eyes:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

43. "DU Glenn Beck left teabaggers" ?! Kpete?!

Do you think it is important to know what people are writing and opining outside this teensy world?

The poster of the OP doesn't have to worry about their credibility - they probably do more to keep people informed about different topics from different sources, often about subjects no one else is aware of or raised. She also seems to usually post the article with little or no comment, at least that's what I've noticed.

You're promoting ostrich ism if someone doesn't share your particular dogma, which is surprising from you. "DU Glenn Beck left teabaggers" is also way over the top. Glenn Beck = insane, teabaggers=ignorant and easily led, left= ??? I have no idea why you're using left as a pejorative, except I guess that would reveal that you see it as an insult of some sort.

I have read posts of yours with interest in the past and I'm really disappointed with this one.

[HamdenRice]

46. I wasn't responding to kpete

And the false language I quoted wasn't from kpete's OP. Of course I respect kpete like everyone else for the wide variety of news and opinion she brings to DU.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

47. My apologies for not following the thread correctly.

But, I still think it's an over the top labelling of the poster you were responding to. You could have made exactly the same arguments without name-calling the poster you were debating. It weakened your response.

[RaleighNCDUer]

14. That would be disheartening to hear - and I have yet to hear that.

In fact, Obama's statement decidedly did NOT excuse those who formulated the policies or issued the orders. What it said, translated out of politicalese, is "we aren't going after Lynddie England - and the door is still open for prosecution of Rumsfeld".

[leftofthedial]

32. The message on torture was loud and clear and unambiguous

at the White House press conference today:

"the President is looking forward, not back."

He needs to invent a new euphemistic slogan for "afraid to investigate and prosecute."

[EFerrari]

9. Iirc, there is language in the Geneva torture convention

to the effect that, when you discover torture has occurred, you are to investigate it immediately.

[jaxx]

10. Is it being ignored?

[EFerrari]

11. It has been ignored for years. n/t

[Winterblues]

15. The one body chosen by all signatories to be the definitive voice on whether torture

took place or not is the International Red Cross. They turned in their report in 2004 so I would say since five years have passed since the "Official" word was presented and nothing has happened that yes it is being ignored.

[EFerrari]

25. There is a new report that is quite damning.

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2009/04/06/Red-Cross-report-details-torture/UPI-46031239072846/

(It's a UPI link, sorry, but that's what I could find.)

[jaxx]

41. I respect your opinions (yours and the one above)

but I don't agree that this will fall away.

[JackDragna]

19. Except it's not going to be a matter of time.

The man has given clear indications he's not interested in prosecuting anyone for these crimes.

[natrat]

40. the whole "give it time argument" is wearing thin

it dont take much to see where this is headed

[leftofthedial]

8. He follows a long line of "democrats"

who've been excusing repuke crimes (or participating in them) since raygun.

[blm]

29. Lee Hamilton ... Bill Clinton ...John Breaux ... Lieberman...BFEE should've been jailed by 1994.

.

[leftofthedial]

31. the "democrats" do nothing,

they "look forward, not back"

they sweep the crimes under the rug...

and the crimes get worse and worse and worse.

[blm]

33. and they sabotage any honest Democrat working for accountability and open government.

.

[mmonk]

17. Thanks kpete.

I recommend Fein's book, "Constitutional Peril, The life and Death Struggle For Our Constitution And Democracy".

[anonymous171]

20. Didn't Bill Clinton already do that? nt

[mmonk]

21. Why "move on" and "bipartisan" descriptions aren't wise.

"He relied solely on politics, as though law was nothing more than a constellation of political calculations with ulterior motives. Obama insisted that investigations of Bush-Cheney would disturb the Toscanini-like symphony he had promised to the political class in the corridors of power."

Also, having people like Bruce Fein speak on the issue shoots down the "centrist" democrats' arguments that only the "left" want to pursue prosecution (and/or impeachment) for "retribution". It strips that lie bare naked.

[bvar22]

22. There is no such thing as....

Torturing in "Good Faith".
Torturers are criminals,
even when they have a note from their lawyer.

[mmonk]

27. Good one.

[blm]

48. and even when they are Democratic presidents ordering rendition....

.

[RainDog]

26. Precedent? Paging Gerald Ford

I'm sick about this latest move, but please.

Ford set the standard for shitting on justice with the pardon of Nixon.

[EFerrari]

28. The Warren Commission has a prior claim, doesn't it? n/t

[blm]

44. and WHO deepsixed BCCI matters throughout the 90s?

.

[ProSense]

35. Precedent?

Already?

I wish people would criticize the hesitation to move forward without pronouncing this has already happened. Now is the time to call for action, not to declare that the fight is already over.

The memos were just released a few days ago.

[TBF]

38. K&R n/t

[BigBearJohn]

39. kpete -- I ALWAYS look forward to your posts.

Thanks for your honesty ang great posts.
Nothing will ever turn me away from being one of your biggest fans.

You are my hero.

[Vidar]

49. Good article, kpete. Fein has it right.

[olegramps]

50. Does anyone here not believe that President Obama is reconsidering his previous position?

Every "so called" news channel that I have viewed has concluded that powerful groups of Democrats, including DU, have had an influence on President Obama. I don't know how he can exonerate those who actually did the torture with the excuse that they thought it was legal. Wasn't this the excuse used by the Nazis that was rejected at the Nuremberg trial? It seems inconsistent when we are in fact deporting a 87 year old man for his treatment of Nazi prisoners.

[Occam Bandage]

51. So because he announced Holder would have a free hand, he is "dangerous to the republic."

Wow. That's lovely.

[librechik]

52. Thank you, Bruce Fein, for "Making Obama Do The Right Thing!"

I would really like to hear what Fein has to say about more recent events. i trust his intellect and experience.