It is staggering, mind-blowing to listen to Karl Rove say “…they have ruined the techniques…” in response to the public disclosure of the “Torture Memos.” It is shocking to hear Vice President Dick Cheney sneeringly say that releasing the memos "presumes" that the enhanced techniques “didn’t work” and that "being nice" works, obviously criticizing the traditional techniques. These statements in the face of all of the recent statements by F.B.I. and C.I.A. agents who are publically testifying that torture, indeed, didn’t work. The gradual disclosure of the timeline of actionable intelligence and of arrests made using traditional interrogation methods and the use of so-called “enhanced” methods prove that traditional methods work better and that no useful intelligence was gained by the enhanced methods; that the defense for the enhanced methods is a lie. But, what is it that is so shocking? It is the ignorance of and the deliberate defiance of the law that is shocking. It is the "choosing anarchy" that is shocking.
It seems that Rove, Cheney, Hannity, O’Rielly, Limbaugh and all the others speaking out against traditional interrogation methods are deliberately choosing to be ignorant of the law; that the United States doesn’t have to abide by the international law against torture. Even Peggy Noonan says the memos should not have been released, saying “…some things should be kept hidden…” Senator McCain, who has said the enhanced techniques is torture, is saying that prosecution would be "counter productive." Astonishing! We made that law. We, the United States of America wrote that law. We, the United States of America prosecuted Japanese war criminals and put them to death because they violated the international law against torture that, by the way, we wrote and was ratified by our Congress and the parliaments of all like-minded nations only months before we prosecuted those Japanese war criminals. Do we now "choose" to disobey the law as a matter of political "convenience?"
Our country “promised” to obey that law in the Geneva Convention. Our military take an oath to uphold that convention and to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. All of our national elected officials and our appointed national leaders take an oath to protect and defend our constitution and to obey our laws, including our international obligations.
It is startling that the Republican “gang” is choosing to be stupid, that they are choosing anarchy over the rule of law, that they find the words to justify ignorance. It is now being “nice” or “a pansy” to use traditional interrogation methods. The only thing that comes to my mind is that they are simply and astoundingly stupid. The ONLY choice we who wish the rule of law to prevail is to use the rule of law to prosecute, convict and jail those who authorized torture.
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