Pine Belt Progressive

An ugly fact that many of us have taken as a given for a while now has finally been confirmed. Our President, George W. Bush, had direct, personal knowledge that members of his cabinet discussed the use of torture, and he approved of their actions. There’s a debate going on right now as to how bloggers should deal with it. While we’re waiting for that to be worked out, I’ll vote with Tristero. We should spend as much time as possible reminding people that, first and foremost, torture is immoral.

Rather than write a long post about how and why torture is immoral, I’ll endorse Melissa’s anti-torture statement one more time. I doubt I can do any better.

In addition to being IMMORAL, torture is against the law. It’s not just unconstitutional and against international law. The good old U.S. Code makes it a criminal offense. Allowing the debate on this topic to go on as it has for the last few years makes everyone in this country less safe. Think about how easy it is to get your name on the various watch lists the government is keeping and how difficult it is to get off those lists. If your government can torture anyone (and I mean ANYONE) without suffering the most severe legal and political consequences, they can torture you. Yes, YOU.

Our government will soon be torturing suspected drug traffickers and sex offenders, if it isn’t already. A little while later, it will be o.k. torture suspects in all capital cases. Then the next thing you know, all felony suspects will be fair game, and sooner rather than later, these torture techniques will go state and local. I am not making this up. This is the way legal change works!!! First, the policies are applied to non-citizens and enemies of the state. Next, to criminal suspects no one is willing to defend. Then, to suspects in general; and finally, to everyone else.

This should be a no-brainer. It sucks that we’re forced to keep repeating it over and over and over again. But apparently we do need to keep repeating it. So, just in case I’ve drifted too far from the main idea of this post: torture is immoral. It is so immoral that even giving it serious consideration in a policy debate should be grounds for removal from office. If a person argues that torture is permissible, for any reason, their political career should be over. People who torture or who approve it should be tried fairly and, if convicted, imprisoned for life without possibility of parole. It’s just that wrong.

It would be great if our candidates for office would attack Bush/McCain on this more forcefully. It would be even greater if the Congress would do its job and move this issue to the top of the agenda. And if our vaunted Fourth Estate would do its job and lead with this story every day until something gets done. And if all the ministers who are concerned about the degradation of our poor American culture would do their jobs and preach about this until their congregations become outraged enough to demand action. And if the two or three republican elites who have inexplicably managed to maintain a couple of shreds of credibility would disown the entire administration from top to bottom and craft the articles of impeachment themselves.

None of that is likely to happen, but we need some criminal prosecutions on this issue in the worst way. So please take note of the ACLU’s latest effort and help them out by, at the very least, using their online tool to demand the appointment of a special prosecutor.

I know torture is unpleasant to look at. Especially when it’s done in your name. But damn. How is it ever going to stop it if we don’t insist that more people be honest about it and see it for what it is?

I’ll have more to say about this at Left in Alabama later in the week.