As more and more information comes to light, it is now becoming utterly impossible to deny that all the major members of the Bush administration, as well as high-ranking Democrats, were not only fully aware of the use of torture, but specifically approved of it.
And what is the reaction from Obama? He and his people are doing the best to block any action being taken, even if it is likely to be no more than a whitewash, claiming it would be “retribution”. The media, who prefer to call torture “harsh interrogation” are either pretending that there is or should be some kind of moral debate about this, or are just directly threatening Obama for even daring to suggest that it would be possible to maybe imply that there is something slightly wrong about torture.
But this isn’t about retribution. Retribution has nothing to do with it. If I go and kill someone, and get arrested ten days later, is it okay for me to say that “forgive and forget, it was a long time ago, let’s not dwell on the past, putting me in prison would just be retribution”? Of course not – that is the whole point of the law.
And the law has been broken. Severely. US law, international law… everything. Because you cannot debate whether waterboarding and all these other techniques are torture. I repeat: THIS IS NOT UP FOR DEBATE. These are the techniques which have been used, in variations, for centuries – as torture. These kinds of things are what the word torture means. In fact, the United States has prosecuted people for these kinds of actions.
Furthermore: it does not matter if torture works or not. We’ve always known that torture can be used to extract information, reliable or not. That’s not the point. The point is that it’s WRONG. The point is that democratic societies do not torture.
So, Mr. Obama. By refusing to go after the people responsible – mainly the people in charge, that is, though I personally think that those who tortured cannot claim to be innocent – you are basically making torture legal. (Just like not going after murderers would make murder legal. Simple, really.)
But it’s not just that: you’re destroying the most basic moral and democratic principles of your country. Bush started it, but by not taking the chance to right things, you are equally responsible. If you had the slightest bit of morality in you, you would be making sure these criminals would end up in prison. It’s not a partisan issue. Torturing people, innocent or guilty, is morally wrong, illegal and unconstitutional. I don’t need to be a socialist to say that. I just need the slightest belief in democracy. Or the slightest knowledge of history.
Mr. Obama, you’re shitting on everything that hundreds of thousands of people fought for and died for: Democracy. The rule of law. Human rights. You’re ignoring the most basic moral issues. You’re even ignoring the teachings of the guy you’re supposed to consider your Messiah. Remember that stuff about treating others as you would like to be treated? And what about loving your enemy? What do you think he was talking about? Space bears? Popcorn? Reality TV?
But Christ surrounded himself with the poor and oppressed, and was killed for it. And if he was alive today, you’d stick him in one of your torture camps – one of those many that you’ve kept open – and waterboard him to death. No, wait, you’d let someone else do it for you. And give them immunity.
